The Tricky Task of Writing a Villain

In literature, and in real life, many times the villain makes the story. But writing a nuanced account of these characters, whether in fiction or in nonfiction, can betricky.In her book , Catherine Belton uncovers important details from Putin’s past and tells . One evening in December 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a group of protesters started making its way to the KGB station in Dresden. Putin called for reinforcements, but none came. This was his turning point, Anne Applebaum writes, the moment that “marked the end of [the Soviet] empire and the beginning ofShe describes his disdain for democracyashis answer to that “trauma,” but she’s clear that his success has “proved a terrible tragedy for the rest of the world.”