Michel Eltchaninoff. Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin. London: Hurst, 2018. vii + 195 pp. $19.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-84904-933-7.
Reviewed by Michael Slobodchikoff (Troy University)
Published on H-War (May, 2019)
Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University)
The Philosophical Doctrine of Vladimir Putin
To truly understand a person, one must understand what he or she is thinking. To understand that, one must understand the philosophical development of an individual. This is an important exercise in that it not only helps to classify the individual in question according to his or her beliefs but also helps to be able to predict individuals’ behaviors. This is what Michel Eltchaninoff has attempted to achieve in his book, Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin, which is an English translation and update of Dans la tête de Vladimir Poutine, originally published in French in 2015.
Eltchaninoff believes that in closely examining Vladimir Putin’s speeches, interviewing Putin’s associates, and reading his interviews, he would be able to truly understand the mind of Putin and, better yet, be able to predict his future behavior and strategy vis-à-vis the West. In truth, Putin has often been misunderstood in the West, and this book is an important effort to try to understand the philosophical driving force behind Putin’s actions. To undertake a task of determining the philosophical roots of an individual’s core beliefs, one has to first begin without any major assumptions. This is especially important in the case of a politician who uses philosophy to appeal to constituents. One of the first questions that anyone undertaking such an analysis needs to ask is how much the individual reads and consumes philosophy. If major philosophers are an inspiration for forming an individual’s weltanschauung, then it must be shown that the individual is a consumer of that philosophy.
In the introduction, Eltchaninoff states that Putin is not a “philosophy fanatic.” In fact, the author says that “he prefers history, literature, and above all sport” (p. 3). Thus, as Eltchaninoff states, Putin is not a scholar. This admission in itself should not call into question the exercise of trying to identify the philosophy that guides Putin but rather should at least make the reader skeptical of anyone who is able to definitively state from where Putin’s philosophical roots originate. In addition, the author undertaking the analysis must be aware that the individual who is not an avid consumer of philosophy or a scholar makes a philosophical analysis more complex, as the author must determine what philosophy might be causing Putin to act a certain way versus what philosophy Putin is using to appeal to his intended audience. While similar in nature, a philosophy that guides the behavior of an individual makes it much easier to predict the behavior of the individual, whereas an individual’s use of a philosophy to appeal to an audience makes it almost impossible to predict future behaviors.
Despite the issues in determining whether philosophy guides Putin’s behavior or whether he uses philosophy to appeal to his intended audience, Eltchaninoff states that he is able to piece together Putin’s philosophical doctrine. He claims that the philosophical doctrine starts at a shared Soviet heritage with a conservative mindset. Further, he claims that Putin believes in Russian exceptionalism which in turn leads to Eurasian imperialism. In short, Eltchaninoff believes that Putin’s philosophical doctrine should be understood by Western policymakers, as he believes that this doctrine will lead to a resurrection of the Soviet Union under Putin.
Ultimately Eltchaninoff’s failure to differentiate between the philosophy that forms Putin’s personality and behavior and Putin’s use of philosophy to appeal to an audience is a fatal flaw of this book. Eltchaninoff’s use of interviews with either Far-Right philosophers or those who have emigrated from Russia to the West has colored his interpretation. The worthwhile enterprise of examining the philosophical roots of Putin’s weltanschauung has instead led Eltchaninoff to create a caricature of Putin, which feeds the Russophobia that has taken hold in the West. Putin is a much more complex individual than Eltchaninoff gives him credit for. Indeed, Putin does seem to believe in Russian exceptionalism and has often looked to expand Russian influence. However, Putin has also shown himself to be a pragmatic leader. He has looked to cooperate with the West when it has made strategic sense for him to cooperate, while pushing back against the West when he has found it in his own personal or Russia’s strategic interests not to cooperate. That does not make Putin a beloved figure in the West, but it does make him a much more complex figure than the individual presented by Eltchaninoff.
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Citation:
Michael Slobodchikoff. Review of Eltchaninoff, Michel, Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin.
H-War, H-Net Reviews.
May, 2019.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54060
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