Summary of Gideon Rachman's The Age of the Strongman

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Putin was the archetype and model for the current generation of strongman leaders. He took over in 1999, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and promised to protect freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and ownership rights.

#2 Putin’s rise to power in Russia was rapid, just ten years before he became head of state. He had been a lowly figure in the intelligence services, working as an officer for the KGB in Dresden in East Germany, before becoming president.

#3 Putin was born into the Soviet Union’s ruling class. He grew up in a small flat in a run-down apartment building in Russia’s grandest city, Leningrad. He was promoted to increasingly lofty positions under President Yeltsin, who then stepped aside to allow Putin to take over at the turn of the millennium.

#4 As Putin established himself in office, the image-makers got to work in crafting a strongman persona for the Russian leader. Many Russians were ready for a strongman leader after the collapse of the Soviet system allowed for democracy and freedom of speech, but many Russians experienced a severe drop in living standards and personal security.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669392484

IRB Media

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Insights on Gideon Rachman's The Age of the Strongman

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Putin was the archetype and model for the current generation of strongman leaders. He took over in 1999, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and promised to protect freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and ownership rights.

#2

Putin’s rise to power in Russia was rapid, just ten years before he became head of state. He had been a lowly figure in the intelligence services, working as an officer for the KGB in Dresden in East Germany, before becoming president.

#3

Putin was born into the Soviet Union’s ruling class. He grew up in a small flat in a run-down apartment building in Russia’s grandest city, Leningrad. He was promoted to increasingly lofty positions under President Yeltsin, who then stepped aside to allow Putin to take over at the turn of the millennium.

#4

As Putin established himself in office, the image-makers got to work in crafting a strongman persona for the Russian leader. Many Russians were ready for a strongman leader after the collapse of the Soviet system allowed for democracy and freedom of speech, but many Russians experienced a severe drop in living standards and personal security.

#5

The image of Putin as a virile leader who wants to restore Russia’s great-power status fits with the political project of restoring Russia’s national strength. But Putin was also determined to rebuild Russia’s great-power status, which led him to clash with the West.

#6

Putin’s speech