Yulia Yuzik

PUTIN’S TAMAGOTCHI

Political non-fiction. Manuscript. 2011. Approx. 170 pages upon completion

Chechnya is Putin’s favourite plaything and also his big - and very successful - experiment for the establishment of what he sees as the ideal state structure. The experiment began in 1998, when Putin became head of the FSB and within just 10 years he had turned the country into an exemplary totalitarian state. The Chechnyan perspective in particular allows for a better understanding of just who Putin is.

Chechnya also forms the core of the great Caucasus project: the transformation of Sochi into a tourism cluster, the creation of world class ski resorts through to the winter olympics. The creation of a "Caucasus" food brand. The exploitation of oil and gas fields on the Caspian Shelf. The construction of stadia and mosques bigger than anywhere else within the territory of the former USSR.

Putin enjoyed absolute freedom with his massive influence, which was also financial, in the Caucasus and in Chechnya in particular, built up from the ruins of war - he was free from the influence of the oligarchs who had brought him to power in Russia and who exert pressure on him there to this day, free from Western opinion. He was thus able to do as he pleased. He built the state of his dreams, with the love of a father and with the fervour of a sensitive little rascal schooled by street gangs in backyards.

Yuzik tells the story of the establishment of this ideal Putinist state in 10 chapters: the murder of human rights activists and foreigners, battles against the army and military counter-intelligence and their expulsion from the state, the elimination of political opponents, the systematic withdrawal of all the liberties of this freedom-loving people, an era of “subbotniks” and forced social service, absolute control of the media and of civil opinion, the national idea, Islam as the alternative to communism, sport as defence training, the creation of a penal apparatus and, astoundingly, the battle against corruption.

Putin’s term in office was characterised by the war in Chechnya, by acts of terror and agitation but it is precisely in such crisis situations that his character traits are best observed. And they reveal that the first steps for Putin’s return to the top most position of power in Russia confirm that the model he created and tested in Chechnya is now to be applied to Russia.