Book about Putin’s private life which ‘reads like a spy novel’ wins French literary prize

The book by exiled 2 Russian journalists is the result of interviews with witnesses, ‘some of whom later disappeared’, the jury said

A taboo-breaking book about Vladimir Putin’s rise to power and private life, written by two exiled Russian journalists, won a newly established French literary prize on Tuesday.

The book, The Tsar in Propria Persona: How Vladimir Putin Deceived Us All , draws on more than two decades of investigative reporting by journalists Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin.

The work won a newly established literary award called Prix Strasbourg awarded by EBRA, France’s largest regional newspaper group, and its parent company, Credit Mutuel Alliance Federale.

It reads “like a spy novel”, the jury said, describing the book as a “fascinating and shocking work about a figure who is himself fascinating and shocking”.

“It is the result of several hundred interviews with witnesses, some of whom later disappeared under tragic circumstances.”

A high-profile Russian journalist, Badanin is the founder and editor-in-chief of Proekt, an investigative media outlet created in 2018.