Vladimir Putin has become the hero of a detective novel

A writer from Latvia, who helped write a book of memoirs about the first president of Russia, has created a detective novel dedicated to his successor. Alexander Olbik, author of several detective novels and co-author of the book 'Three Years with Yeltsin', written in 1992 together with Boris Yeltsin's then-assistant Lev Sukhanov, has made the current head of state Vladimir Putin the hero of the detective novel 'President'.

The Novel's Premise

• The novel's action takes place in Chechnya, where Putin heads with a group of special forces to personally finish off the bandit leader Shamil.
• Dropping urgent state affairs, the country's president decides on this step after receiving a letter with a challenge from Shamil himself.
  • Olbik, a member of the Unions of Journalists and Writers of Latvia, stated in an interview with Izvestia: "I wanted to somehow exalt our president, to give his image a spirit of struggle, not clerical, but real. I wanted him to go out alone and with a weapon, like a real man. He was stung by Shamil's letter addressed to him personally, and he decided to go to Chechnya himself."

Inspiration and Character Portrayal

• The idea for writing the book, according to the author, was born in August 2000, when he observed the president's behavior during the Kursk submarine disaster. Olbik explained: "A whole film was born in my subconscious, and the trigger was the loss of the Kursk."
• Unlike Yeltsin, whom Olbik met in 1988 at a tennis match in Latvia (at that time Boris Nikolayevich was a disgraced deputy chairman of Gosstroy), Putin in Olbik's novel is the embodiment of common sense, and in your president all these qualities dominate.
  • Olbik noted that Putin is not "some kind of dandy who comes to the microphone and starts saying something: painting mirages and spreading a peacock's tail."
  • He felt Putin "seemed to me to be a person who can pull Russia out of the crisis."
• Although Putin's face adorns the cover, he is not the main character of Olbik's detective narrative.
  • Olbik stated: "He does not command, he is commanded. Because he knows that there are people who understand more about this, and there he obeys his former mentor Storm."
• Other characters in the book include:
  • The special forces commander Storm, a friend and mentor of the president.
  • Heroes of real Russian politics: Vladimir Rushailo and Igor Sergeyev (who appear as ministers of internal affairs and defense).
  • Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
  • The president's wife Lyudmila Putina.
  • The head of the presidential administration Alexander Voloshin, together with FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev, who descend into the underground to search for Chechen militants.

Controversy Over Names

• Alexander Olbik became the first writer to use the names of the country's current leaders in a work of fiction.
• In contrast, "Sky Proyezd" and Alexander Prokhanov in the book "Mr. Hexogen" used fictional names: El Tsin, Pu Tin, Zyu Gan, and Istukan.
• This free handling of the names of those in power has caused dissatisfaction among some State Duma deputies who received copies of the book from the author.
• Vladimir Semenov, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on culture, told Izvestia after Olbik made an inquiry to the State Duma committee on information policy regarding the legitimacy of using the names of the current leadership:
  • "In addition, the bizarre combination of truth and outright fantasy creates a sense of blurred boundaries between one and the other. The book is written as if the author is aware of secret encryptions of the CIA's Russian department and knows the subtleties of the entire special services kitchen perfectly. In connection with this, I also sent a second inquiry — to the State Duma security committee, regarding the presence of secret information in the book 'President'."
• The author of the new work himself, "Putiniana" (which already includes several works), stated that he was ready for such a reaction and believes that "the end justifies the means."
  • He added: "You can't please everyone: if Jesus Christ comes and sits in Putin's chair, they will find compromising material on him in three days."
• Olbik reported that the Latvian publishing house where he sent his manuscript asked him to remove the names of Putin and other heavyweights of the Russian political Olympus and replace them with others, but the author did not comply.
  • He quoted Patrushev: "Be careful with the grenade, Alexander Stalyevich," Patrushev tossed as he walked. "I hope all this nonsense will end soon."

Publication Details

• The novel took a long time to reach the reader: its manuscript was first handed over by Olbik to the Belgrade publishing house R&P, and eventually the book was released by the Riga publishing house "Stalker."
• The publishing house, which mainly publishes science fiction literature, including works by the Strugatsky brothers, stated that they "have no relation to the publication of Olbik's book 'President'." (Initially, the author himself planned to call it "Deliver Alive or Dead.")
• Olbik complained to the Izvestia correspondent that the publishing house did not even send him the proofs for checking.
• Olbik does not yet have the book, which is printed in a hard cover with a circulation of 5,000 copies.
• The writer did not name his fee and lamented:
  • "What can a poor writer count on. I would be a satisfied journalist like Latynina, now I've become nobody."

Conclusion

Olbik's narrative ends on a romantic note: near the bed of the deceased president, killed by the bloody Shamil, sits his wife and whispers a prayer to him, poems by their favorite poet.