Ukraine War Diaries: Portraits of Putin - The Narratives from the Circle of Forced Trust (The Unsanctioned Series): Ukraine War Diaries: The Unsanctioned Series, #1

By QWERTskY

• This unusual mixed genre book begins with a one-page open letter "To Comrade Putin, et al." It is a piece worth reading — for history geeks and fiction bookworms alike — before taking a rain check on this special volume. As you will soon learn, the "fashionable" idea that an evil dictator named Putin singlehandedly tricked his 140 million-strong "nation of innocent and unsuspecting victims" into attacking Ukraine is an illusion — one suited only for trendy small talk. The book is a rare collection of ten interconnected, mind-bending narratives based on previously unknown facts carefully procured by an anonymous author (see below) who spent over fifteen weeks in Ukraine's war zones from March to July of 2022 and worked in Ukraine and Russia for over two years between 2014 and 2021.
• See the backdrop of this ghastly war by witnessing remarkable private encounters — in the Kremlin, in a secret Siberian bunker, and beyond — with the president of China (Jinping); with the president of Belarus (Lukashenko); with Russia's Head of Foreign Intelligence (Naryshkin), the Foreign Affairs Minister (Lavrov), and the Kremlin's Press Secretary (Peskov); and even with a centenarian shaman who drove Putin to a psychotic break. Discover the provocative, uncensored reality of the Russo-Ukrainian War (a.k.a. the Russia-Ukraine War) in the context of Russia's century-old regime and in light of Putin's secretive life: the book links the key geopolitical events leading to and in the first six months of this war to the broadly misunderstood Russian ideology responsible for nurturing Vladimir Putin to power from an early age.
• The ten narratives converge into a symbolism-rich life story that builds emotional and logistical continuity around facts that came from sources who have since perished, or were reported anonymously, or are deemed incomplete, or relate to parties deserving of privacy. At the same time, the twenty documentary appendices and over one hundred detailed historical and analytical footnotes help shape the landscape of pertinent (and factual) locations, names, times, and cultural references.
• Learn why Russia fired cruise missiles at civilians in Ukraine's Vinnytsia on July 14, 2022; how the notorious Grigori Rasputin is related to Putin; how Russians use war propaganda to drive and measure public sentiment; why Russia [really] annexed Ukraine's Crimea; when Putin emotionally committed to this war; how killing street animals as a child or taking LSD as a KGB agent in Dresden shaped Putin's mindset and spirituality; what Russians toast to when they drink Ukrainian vodka… and much more. This unprecedented book is rich in engaging cultural and political facts and inferences that point to the true causes and define the potential outcomes of this shocking conflict.

• The Circle of Forced Trust is at the root of Russia's (not Putin's) motives. It is 'the circle of collective responsibility' — a set of organizational practices used in Russia's criminal and political groups — designed to advocate hostility, silence, and loyalty by tying responsibility for group actions to each group member regardless of his/her factual inputs. It is a key principle of all dictatorial leaders in Russia since 1922 (Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Putin).

• The Author… QWERTskY is the pen name of an apolitical, anonymous writer whose permanent location and legal name are unknown. QWERTskY's "day job" is that of a humanitarian envoy tasked with high-risk conflict remediation. QWERTskY has no social media presence but maintains a public-facing website — qwertsky.com — that you may visit to learn more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: 618 Books
• Release date: Sep 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986857947

Book preview

UKRAINE

WAR DIARIES

The Unsanctioned Series

BOOK ONE

Portraits of Putin

The Narratives from the Circle of Forced Trust

A picture containing text, plate, dishware Description automatically generated

an anonymous author for Freedom

Text Description automatically generated

New York ▪ Los Angeles ▪ Houston

London ▪ Sydney ▪ New Delhi ▪ Tokyo

618books.com

Printed in the USA and published by

Text Description automatically generated

618 Books, LTD

For fastest response, always contact us first at 618books.com

645 W 9th St, Ste 110  –  Los Angeles, CA 90015

1127 Eldridge Pkwy, Ste 300  –  Houston, TX 77077

© Copyright 2022  –  QWERTskY | 618 Books, LTD

Published (first edition): September 2022  –  Cover art: QWERTskY

Notice of Copyright and Use of Content

All rights reserved. For non-commercial purposes, you may copy and share the cover page and the first page of any section in this book (including front and back matter) or quote passages of up to three hundred fifty characters per instance (including spaces), provided that (1) you make no changes whatsoever to the material and that (2) you accompany each shared page or quote by a separate and clear attribution to the author, publisher, book title, edition, section name, ISBN number, AND, if referencing a printed/hard copy, an attribution to the page number(s). In all other circumstances, unless a written permission is obtained from the publisher, no part of this book may be reproduced, copied, or shared for any purpose whatsoever by any mechanical, digital, photographic, videographic, phonographic, audio, or other method, including but not limited to translating, storing in a retrieval system, emailing, transmitting, posting, transferring, or manipulating the entirety or parts of this book. To obtain permission to use any content of this book beyond the scope of these limitations, visit 618books.com.

About QWERTskY

QWERTskY is the pen name of an anonymous author whose permanent location, gender, and legal name are unknown. For further information, read the About the Author section at the end of this book and visit the author’s official website, qwertsky.com.

Disclaimer

Although this book relies on many confirmed facts, it also uses a range of complex symbolisms and other literary tools. Some readers may not accurately and consistently discern the former from the latter despite historical references, quotes, or other supporting information. To eliminate confusion and misrepresentations, all parties, including all readers of this book, shall assume that all content herein, specifically including any and all content that appears to describe events, places, organizations, or people that may be construed as factual, is non-literal and fictional. This book, its author, and the publisher do NOT represent or endorse any organization, entity, party, individual, or group and have made no willful effort to promote or demote any living individual or entity — directly or indirectly, by fact or implication — through content of this book. Relevant inquiries must be directed to the publisher by visiting 618books.com.

Publisher’s Function & Author’s Opinions

The exact nature of the relationship between the author and the publisher is a private matter, while the publisher’s function is largely limited to that of a professional consultant. The publisher may be granted the author’s permission to lawfully facilitate certain transactions for and, in some cases, on behalf of the author and to utilize 618 Books, LTD as the primary party or contact in particular matters, records, transactions, and resources associated with the author, including but not limited to matters pertinent to publishing rights, distribution rights, fee and royalty collection rights, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights. Notwithstanding any such permission by fact or inference, all substance expressed or implied by this book represents views and opinions of the author.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 979-8-9868579-4-7 (Ebook) – ISBN 979-8-9868579-3-0 (Paperback)

Ukraine War Diaries: The Unsanctioned Series [Book One]

Portraits of Putin – The Narratives from the Circle of Forced Trust

Author: QWERTskY (anonymous)  –  Published (first edition): September 2022

1. World History – 2. East European History – 3. Social Studies – 3. Biographical Fiction

XPL6009/MKCNXR01  –  80900/NRDNSM03  –  IX X MMXXII

TO STUDENTS OF PEACE

At times, an oppressive ruler is not a paradox but a rational culmination of his culture’s inherent philosophy. When this happens, a longstanding dictator and his people inadvertently become deeply symbiotic. Knowing that tyrant’s capacities and aspirations is knowing the society of his genesis.

QWERTskY

an anonymous author for Freedom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It has been an honor to receive help from my innumerable sources — the remarkable people who have fought, saved lives, suffered, campaigned, researched, and had no fear to collaborate with me during my travels through Ukraine’s war zones between March and July of 2022.

I extend my deepest gratitude to civilians, servicemen, officials, journalists, war analysts, historians, translators, humanitarian volunteers, and boundless anonymous sources all-around the planet who took the risks and invested their time and energy to help me write this book.

I also kneel down in the memory of those who nobly contributed to this tome but are no longer with us: your lives of courage and integrity are forever imprinted in these lines.

I extend my special recognition to my amazing editorial team, who worked with no days off and went above and beyond to assist me with translations and with devising the appendices. No extra comma or misspelled word may ever be held against you.

Although I would like to personally thank each of you by name for your contributions, doing so would invariably subject you to acts of Russian terror and would physically imperil you, your colleagues, and your families. I acknowledge the fact that all of you have helped me selflessly, with no illusory prospects of reward beyond the faint hope that your knowledge and ideas would one day make it into a book written by an author whose identity is limited to an obscure moniker. This project would have never materialized without you. Thank you.

The magnificent paradox of our collective effort is that our individual, fragmented inputs transformed into a synergistic, meaningful narrative of Freedom — a wakeup call for those who possess the intellect and the bravery to accept the truth about the Russo-Ukrainian War and about the misdirected ideology behind the 140 million-strong nation of its hallucinating perpetrators.

QWERTskY

(Letter) To Comrade Putin, et al.

Your life isn’t worth this wedge of paper, but the page may not go to waste. Do you think stealing land and resources from other nations is noble? Do you believe it’s sexy to fly cowardly bombs and cruise missiles to kill civilians in homes, hospitals, and schools? Do you love seeing Russian soldiers murder, cripple, torture, rape, and bully unarmed Ukrainians? But… you didn’t personally hurt anyone, did you? Of course not! You didn’t do any of this alone.

Countless acts of terror and crimes against humanity have been committed by you, your military, your cronies, and all who have sustained your shameful regime since its inception in 1922. It must hurt you to recall that you’re just a foul product of your misfit culture, but it’s clear that you’ve enjoyed your tyrant role… and it’s sad that vast numbers of modern Russians actually support you.

There are many ways to punish those responsible. One is to write a book that for millennia will remind the world that you and others like you are scum. This book does precisely that.

You are the bad guys — not all Russians… but tens of millions of you are, including you, Putin. However, your contemptable life, as well as that of every proper Russian who stands with you, is tucked behind the curtain of lies and delusions. In turn, this book fills the gaps and paints over the fake colors that you and your lunatic comrades have used to impersonate the good fellows.

Books can make their subjects look better or worse, but scum is scum. This writing combines diverse literary symbolisms with well-sourced facts of your strange life, the century-old culture behind it, and certain events just before and during the first six months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The outcome is a telling album of your inner portraits that epitomizes your doomed regime of greedy thugs, shady ministers, heartless aggressors, corrupt journalists, and, sadly, tens of millions of well-read, educated people who have lived, worked, raised children, and voted for you in the ill-conceived ether of the ideological disgrace known as Russia. Enjoy this book.

QWERTskY

CONTENTS

TO STUDENTS OF PEACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

(Letter) To Comrade Putin, et al.

FREEDOM

PREFACE

Prologue

The Man in Purple Toga

Suite Z

Doctor’s Call

Alter Ego

Penguin and Mouse

Grigori

Suite V

Immanuel

Future Memory

Hunter

AFTERWORD

APPENDICES

Appendix I: From the Author’s Journal

Appendix II: From the Author’s Journal

Appendix III: From the Author’s Journal

Appendix IV: The Budapest Memorandum

Appendix V: Peace at Any Price

Appendix VI: Ukrainian Casualties

Appendix VII: Siloviki and Stukachi

Appendix VIII: Help Putin Save Face?

Appendix IX: The Fluid Russian Narrative

Appendix X: Joseph Stalin’s Repressions

Appendix XI: The Wild 90s

Appendix XII: Kyiv Vs Kiev

Appendix XIII: Putin’s Biological Mother

Appendix XIV: Taras G. Shevchenko

Appendix XV: Putin’s Medical Condition

Appendix XVI: Putin’s Judo Skills

Appendix XVII: Varenyky and Borsch(t)

Appendix XVIII: A World War?

Appendix XIX: Russian Athletes: Fair Game?

Appendix XX: NATO and The European Union

About the Author

Freedom Without Justice is Slavery

FREEDOM

Freedom doesn’t mean choosing a soft drink, a brand of shoes, or a cool job. It means, among many things, living in peace and not kneeling before oppressive rulers or entities who sponsor them. Freedom begins with having no fear to speak one’s mind to make sense of our complex world. This mixed genre book presents facts and historical accounts within a framework of fiction. It is a book of Freedom. That is why it may disappoint those abominable people who detest human liberties and are more concerned with being verbally offended than with a 140 million-strong nation of aggressors threatening world peace, or with innumerable bombs, missiles, bullets, and troops killing, torturing, and bullying peaceful Ukrainians and obliterating their resources. Here is a message to these disoriented people: don’t read this book, especially as it isn’t about you even if it inadvertently resembles the story of your life or unassumingly mentions your name or the name of your organization… except you, Putin, and everyone by your side (you know who you are) who openly supports or partakes in Russia’s well-camouflaged, manic, century-old regime — this book is indeed about you. As to everyone else, including those who are bored already or find legalese useful, do read the copyright page.

PREFACE

Although taking a side in the Russo-Ukrainian War¹ from day one should have been a slam dunk, I did not. I hesitated until I could personally see, hear, touch, and smell this unnerving conflict. I did. As an apolitical humanitarian worker, I spent over fifteen weeks in Ukraine’s war zones between March and July of 2022. In combination with my prior travels to both Russia and Ukraine between 2014 and 2021, this led to my blueprint of a three-book series that aims to share my limited but eye-opening account of the war, its causes, and its impact upon Ukraine, Russia, and the world.

In a valuable diversion from the conventional writing paradigms, this series presents the complex story of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as mixed genre narrative rich in both hard facts and illustrative fables. Such approach — and this is critical — prioritizes purpose over theatrics and is supported empirically but generously uses symbolisms and other literary tools to build emotional continuity around information that is partially verified, or came from sources who have since perished, or was reported anonymously, or relates to parties deserving of privacy. Why and how I chose this uncommon writing style for this volume will become clear throughout this book and will be explained in detail in the Afterword section.

This, first book in the series connects verified, well sourced historical and geopolitical perspectives upon the first six months of the Russo-Ukrainian War to the broadly misunderstood life story its perpetrators — the Russian people, both Soviet and post-Soviet, who had nurtured Putin into existence and power. In turn, this volume not only depicts the war and its atrocities, but it also paints Putin’s character, as well as that of his nation. This is done in the context of a highly informative progression of several interconnected, private events leading to and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This vivid progression consists of ten dialogue-rich narratives that illuminate the causes of and the inferences from the Russo-Ukrainian War by exploring five key elements of Putin’s political and personal life. The first is a critical series of Putin’s secretive, emotional encounters relating to Ukraine within his domestic and international political network. The second is his spirituality. The third is a pivotal moment in his childhood. The fourth is his murky family tree. Finally, the fifth is the century-old regime that cultivated Putin’s ideological essence — his temperament, intellect, core values, and his complex human faculties, including those only visible under the thick lens of unsanctioned private scrutiny — whereby, as a side effect, this writing also illustrates the dominant philosophical, social, and logistical templates behind many authoritarian nations.

All of the ten narratives are linked semantically. Some of them independently focus on Putin’s demeanor and philosophy, while most of them comprise a rather shocking life story that sheds light both on the malformed genesis of its anti-hero and on the Russo-Ukrainian War as a whole. The story mainly spans the period from November 2021 to August 2022 but also reaches well into the past. Connecting the dots will be a rewarding challenge.

Subsequently, Book Two will be a collection of war action narratives: with less fill-in-the-gaps creative content, it will tell stories of victory, loss, and survival — sourced personally or from people who did not try to kill me (mostly) after speaking with me.

The themes and objectives of the subsequent book(s) in this series are in development and will be molded by further resources I procure and, presumably, by this war’s ultimate aftermath.

In this series, you will plunge into the most paradoxical and the least anticipated armed conflict since World War II. As of August 2022, the growth rate of human casualties in the Russo-Ukrainian War was known to be well below those of the Korean Conflict, the Syrian Civil War, or the Indo-Pakistani Wars;² however, the global sociopolitical and economic impact of this war became much greater even in its relative infancy. This is so because of the world’s dependency on Ukraine’s grain crops and on Russia’s oil and gas; because of Ukraine’s network of nuclear power plants (the largest in Europe) and the potential of global radioactive contamination due to their damage from Russian missile strikes; and because of Russia’s massive arsenal of nuclear warheads pointed westward.

My experiences in Ukraine felt surreal but were tangible and unambiguous. These were memorable, paradoxical experiences of contrast — from the joy of reunited families to the terror of grotesque, thermobaric blast waves sweeping across apartment buildings, hospitals, and schools; from the songs of peace and unity to the mothers and fathers crying over their dead or crippled daughters and sons; from the holidays celebrated with locals to the baffled faces and the bloodied dresses of adolescents raped by their alleged liberators from Russia; from the inspiring imagery of Ukraine’s brave soldiers to their twisted portrayals smeared by the lies of the Russian media, to the inexplicably wise eyes of Ukrainian toddlers who fully understood life’s impermanence well before learning to speak.

Contrary to the fashionable belief of many naïve westerners engaged in trendy small talk, the cause of these stark, harrowing contrasts was not one repugnant, evil dictator named Vladimir who singlehandedly manipulated his nation of innocent and unsuspecting victims into this war; this is the key element of delusion among those who have refused to see this war’s cultural backdrop and have called for ending it instead of winning it. The true catalyst of this war was a self-sustainable, deeply aware culture that had fostered Putin and myriads of others like him, albeit with different looks. C’est la vie, but giving Russia a piece of Ukraine — or even France — would indeed help Putin save face but would not turn Russia into a friendly, peaceful nation.³

It was once stylish to think that Stalin — Putin’s personal hero who at one point killed over thirty-three million Soviet citizens, but of course singlehandedly — was the last of the Soviet tyrants. Many are tempted to think that Putin should have been the last one. Unfortunately, both of them turned out to be mere extensions of their underlying culture — the culture ready to lie, steal, kill, and produce other likeminded tyrants in the name of its ill-conceived ideology.

On that note, I indeed would have loved to start this series with my aforementioned narratives of victory, loss, and survival (some of which will surface in this book, rest assured). However, in light of this war’s pretext and its complex geopolitical backdrop, focusing on the symbolism of Putin’s character is the first, crucial step in understanding the tragedy of this conflict and in developing keen awareness of its broad range of possible long-term aftermaths. All earthlings need this awareness to prevent future wars and to stop future regimes of aggression and oppression from thriving; conveniently, that awareness will also equip readers with the cultural and historical fluency needed to process the surreal war action narratives and other content in Book Two and beyond.

As with all mixed genre writing, this