LE SYSTÈME POUTINE

For the past eight years Russia's fate has been in the hands of one man: Vladimir Putin. Since the ex-KGB man took the seat of power in 2000 he has methodically instigated a new regime. The Russian Federation has been transformed from a chaotic state to once again a major player on the world stage, but the Putin administration has not been without its dark side: bloody massacres in Chechnya, the suppression of an independent media, constraints on freedom of expression, the "privatisation of the state" by government oligarchs and the crushing of political opposition have all been part of Putin's masterwork. The president has ruthlessly manipulated both the Russian public and the outside world. His friends have been rewarded and his enemies coldly eliminated. Armed with his nuclear weapons, oil and gas, Putin has become one of the most important and authoritarian leaders in today's world, a menace to democracies worldwide. This is the picture of a man who has cunningly worked throughout his life to achieve his goals - by all means necessary. A thriller.