among the first steps the president elect is planning is to push back against germany led the stir to ventures. of course without say dot com now the vladimir putin's back in russia's top job. hello again or welcome to spotlight the interview shout on party i mildly love and today were a guest star chris hutchins and alex i'm going to cut out the card. since his appearance on the political arena twelve years ago let him or putin has always been in the spotlight of public attention he's played the ad lines and the front pages

of numerous periodicals and dozens of books have been written about people are mostly interested in his political career of course but what about his personality i read books about a lot of it put me as a person not a politician first published research authors the two people who claim they finally got an answer to the question of who is live who are my guests on the show today russian journalist and producer alex out of the park and his english colleague chris hutchins who is joining us via satellite link problems with. vladimir putin was then unknown when he entered russian national politics back in one thousand nine hundred nine he's climb up the political ladder was rep ed the prime minister acting president president elect he made it in less than a year two consecutive presidential terms so his popularity inside the country skyrocket and his name turned into a brand new. in the international arena russians seem to associate putin with the

return of political stability and economic progress he's straightforward talking no nonsense approach as well as he's tough stance on international issues have frequently irritated the west but have cheney really been approved often in russia during his four years as prime minister who didn't preserve his popularity with the public on with his tough guy image however the situation changed in the lead up to this year's presidential election the country witnessed the biggest antigovernment rallies since the time of yeltsin the political turbulence did not prevent looting from clinching his third presidential term in one reelection articles putin this cracked the awakening of the russian civil society as a rich event of easy power a byproduct of the economic stability he brought about. hello

gentlemen welcome to the show hello alexander hello crescent about you thank you both very much for being with us on the show first of all after after twelve years that putin has has been doing his best to keep his personality in the nigga do you think do you think the question who is mr putin is this true is this still relevant after more than a decade of his dominance in russian politics christiane start with you. well it certainly here is here in london and i hope it is rounder rest of the world too because you know i've spent six years working on this book and it took six years to fathom out who mr putin is and exactly what he's like i think if i had been writing a book about turley blair or george bush it would have taken six months but mr putin is a very deep very interesting man i hope the others will forgive me for saying they're a little superficial. here is yes he deserves a book and it took a lot of digging a lot of persuading of

a lot of be able to come forth with the arses of the questions that i had for him. mr clarke are you are a journalist or producer who is turning to returning publisher well you are the man who has the right book and you also a co-author will it be easy to sell put in to the public pressure in britain especially after the anti western rhetoric that we're joining the election campaign recently. i think there is a huge interest which in in in the yuki despite the rhetoric well our one may refer to this as a referee or somebody else view it that we simply i think perceive it is part of the russian character i mean british people or british russo if i look loosely nor that russians are emotional and the very love us for that and i think being emotional and sometimes sort of being succumbed to rhetoric is

a part of the russian character i mean we have we gauge and rhetorics in our kitchens so i think that people in britain will see sort of beyond that and these certainly wants to understand the man that britain will have to deal with. i know you haven't i haven't read this reasoned book but i did read your book about the beatles and you're really good in really understanding what the people are under their masks this this is what i think you're the best to do that what can you tell us about about food and that this question i have been asking to many people during the last couple of months do you believe that he is genuinely suspicious that he's anti western or is it just is it just a way to mobilize the russians. i don't think he's anti western i don't know he's anti anything really i just think he's interested as you quite rightly say it my interest is in finding out what makes people tick from the beatles to the man. who

was the subject of my last book. i wanted to know what makes him laugh what makes him cry what his relationship is with his wife and his daughters. i was particularly fascinated by his upbringing you know that it's staggering for people to learn that the man who now lives in palaces and travels the world and mixes with presidents and prime ministers was lived in a one room flat and didn't go to school until he was eight this gave him all kinds of complexes and made him such an interesting man certainly the most interesting politician on the world stage today you you said interesting thing he didn't go to school until who was eight in russia of that time nobody went to school until there were eight that there was how the school system worked ok gentleman what what the russians are all in the english while they're at the english audience will certainly be interested to learn that while the russians will be well they will be reading your book that you're introducing in russia too they will be interested in

understanding what kind of putin have we elektra it what kind of president will we be having for the for the upcoming six years would be a different putin or would be the same kind of you are writing about how the end any idea from you well i think that if we had an answer to that question i think we would be fortune tellers or your life will tell what will happen during the next few years but i think the writing is on the wall i think we will definitely see a new mr putin i think he has quite a few aces up his sleeve yet and i think it's particularly interesting to see russia's new president through the english eyes. i think that this is quite a unique book because so far it's the first truly sort of russo british book crease the author of being the englishman taking on the russian president i think

is absolutely unprecedented all let's make it clear clear to the views you refer to chris as the or three you're the publisher but you're also the co-author so so so did you have to write it or or you edited it or were i mean well how did it work out obviously as it happens chris and why we've been friends for quite a few years and we've been working on other projects together and i was a contributing journalist unusually. chris and i we went to west and see be reared we cooperated on this book and and we grew to be co-authors and i just obviously don't want to rain on christmas parade but. that is clear in the subtitle of the board with alexander corrupt go but obviously i'm quite proud to have we pride of place here on the cover of the book and yes i've contributed as

a journalist and as an executive editor as well so then the my next question is to you or your you present your book with the words i quote the highly personal biography of russia's leader are what does it mean does it mean i will learn some new facts after reading your book well. i think mr or mrs putin will learn some new facts it is highly personal i don't think it is religious yet. he didn't really. i'm told he has i'm thoroughly read the manuscript some months ago but i only have other people's word for that but i guess it is highly it is highly personal and there are probably things in it which which he won't approve of simply not because they are going to throw him in a bad light but because i think he's a very private man and i think he likes to be an enigma i do believe that amir putin never wanted the cloak of secrecy to be taken away from him i

do believe i do believe that mr can't call this book is it going to become a part of mr putin's apology. our apology for what it is that i think i think the english korean used to say or it is believed that she used to say that she never apologizes and i think that if the queen doesn't i think was put in should ok in this book you say putin is the most interesting man the most interesting politician on the world stage today which is this if i want to what you want to sounds and what's so interesting for you a russian bear out about your current president well first of all let me tell you about not long ago i was in the philippines i was on the island of mindanao which is obviously worlds away from russia and i was an information about putin's so i when you were out i was talking to

a filipino man who named long time ago still in the late soviet union these he named his school football team nick after he did that to coca-cola truck arrived with a portable movie screen showing the horrors of the sort of your life but it's another story so i asked him what russian the words does he more obviously apart from sputnik and he's said spy sieber and the third one was put him i say know the word and the fourth word is chelsea. you know what they don't know he also in the philippines and i don't know so i've i will sort of ask you after you asked me what does it have been for me as a russian in the name put in i would see if it is so compelling and interesting for a man in the philippians or brisket i must see that i'm interested to to put it mildly say alexander caught up well and chris hutchins authors of the ladder put in

his biography spotlight will be back we'll continue this interview in less than a minute stay with us.

welcome back to spotlight love and just a reminder that my guests on the sharia today are alexander caught up cohen chris hutchins the authors of the adam and putin's biography gentleman i want to ask you well the main question that i'm sure everybody wants to ask you these days what are your sources what were your sources of information about about vladimir putin well mr mr hudson says admitted in one of his previous interviews that that the sources were so good that as early as in two thousand and five you chris knew that putin would step down as president in two thousand and eight and then

will become prime minister and return to the kremlin in two thousand and twelve now later mr hutchens also said that he had so much to tell which was not told before because people he interviewed were scanned so what information have you have you discovered what were the people that you interviewed can you tell us of them where he lives. yes it was a very wide selection of people i learned that he was going to step down in two thousand and eight and become president again in two thousand and twelve in two thousand and six in a london square from a man who is very close to him and remains very close to him and called me a few minutes before this interview actually it was. well what i said but he has given me a lot of information which i believe came from mr putin himself but when you ask about the sources i went far and wide alexander's already told you about his trip to the philippines i went to los angeles to talk to jack nicholson about his party

going without him in general nicholson never gives a lot of years i have tried and through i even i even caught him backstage but maybe he doesn't give interviews how did you do that next time you want to do it call me and i'll see if i have. known paul mccartney for example i mean i didn't just want to talk to politicians are but didn't particular want to politicians at all or diplomats although one diplomat in england was very very interesting about tony blair's meeting with vladimir putin but paul mccartney had a most interesting meeting with him at the kremlin a meeting in which mr putin went to great lengths to to engineers who organize and during it mrs macartney the then heather mills mccartney offended him and she found herself on the wrong end of mr mr putin's i won't say temper but he was obviously extremely irritated by to the minute the kremlin grounds unless unless the story is

told in greater detail in the book by the book gentlemen i understand that you're advertising today you're selling the book but you claim that this book leaves no stone unturned i was and what about personal matters such things as putin's family was very sensitive about or were the size of putin's fortune these stones did you did they did you turn these stones in your book. absolutely absolutely we did talking about the so-called fortune i think that anybody who would tell you that hugo should know was the size of the putin's fortune obviously would be uninformed to put it mildly or obviously we left nor store and turned in uncovering all that but again i think that we can go into great detail here about that or we can buy the book and i would suggest the letter ok now now talking about the friends i know i know chris that you probably will not give us the name of this mysterious

british friend of mr paul we can but tell us tell us about mr putin's friends is it true that his and his closest friends are still these couple of guys from st petersburg and from the k.g.b. and these are the few people that he calls as friends. no there there it's a much wider circle but it's a circle that he doesn't talk about there is for example the film director nikita mikhail cough who is very close with him goes to his house and he goes to party there which is where he met jack nicholson by the way and there is the influence of father to cone the priest at the street and skin monastery who who he goes to in times of trouble an anxiety. we go into all those those names and more because if it's important if we're going to tell the story about the man not just to go to politicians or diplomats or servants but the goal of the people who

know him who is whose company enjoys silvio berlusconi for example is an amazing influence on him. not political not politically just as well in the beauty of what's happened to mr bell is going to but a lot of the things in his life putin learn from him how to even went to his tailor for his clothes and he learned he learned he learned how to holiday with him. now that's interesting listen and but in this book that you did you try to dig into interpersonal things are they look like mr putin's family like why this is why course for the last like like five years has been so trying to beat me so away from from the media attention the drug these kind of things or you were interested mainly in their unself well obviously the major focus was on the man himself but i

think it's also important to point out that there are some sort of are false are relations like obviously many many journalists many of tabloid writers make a lot out of the fact that putin is wife is not in the spotlight so to speak i think that vance or you saw or views to us that. it leaves nor mystery i think the mysteries are not where are the people i see them and i think this book is particularly interesting for the fact that of doesn't look where others are looking and i think i will probably sound like an advertising man but i would say go buy the book and you will see it for yourself would you predict that after the day you know that you're a sure no mrs put it will be back to play through his lady again. i think absolutely yes why not. chris a you said i get you that you had a problem finding

a publisher for this putin book and only mr carter pole to help you out why didn't the u.k. publishers buy it what i mean i mean because of the book or all you needed like the energy of mystical of coal and these know how to help you're writing it and then further selling it i mean how did that work with with with all due respect to mr grab it was about the book i mean there was a major british publisher that wanted the book but when they went to the chairman he said no if we write a book that offends putin we will not we will never sell another book not only in russia but in all the old soviet union satellite states. and they were afraid that it would ruin their business so all the british public is unless we produce an anodyne book the didn't reveal anything and they didn't attract putin's attention i believe this book certainly has then then they didn't want to know they were there were scared of it alexander is it mere coincidence that this book is being

presented. after the elections after putin returned it to to. becoming the new president elect of the russian federation. did you did you like wait until the right time has come to to market well it was actually printed before the elections took place that obviously reflects our confidence that mr putin will be elected i think is called publish i obviously would be lying if i didn't admit that i think we wanted to take advantage of the election to promote the book i think it's no coincidence but it's just obviously a great occurrence that that mr putin has been just elected. can you tell us when you were working on this book when when you coming to russia interviewing people needing people talking to people who were close to the russian president did

you have any sort of deal with putin with the crowd in through alexander or by yourself or did you were just just or just any other ordinary foreign journalist no i didn't want any influence from the kremlin i don't have in a sense of book if i had depended on to make repairs gov to to arrange things for me i did go and see him i did other one momentous day when i got caught in a red square parade or iesous one were late one night which is another story which is told in the book but no it was done entirely without any what would you call it official help. and another question to both of you all first of all there's that wonderful add that i saw in the pictures are a double decker saying putin is coming well meaning the book is coming here but. it looks like like the russians are coming in minutes it's

a great slogan but what kind of emotion. chris is it is it. awakening in london today when they see putin's coming on the red buses. and that was my wording but what kind of emotion i think everybody in england is everybody in britain and i hope everybody in the world is particularly interested in mr putin particularly because the events of the last few weeks you asked alexander earlier if we would see a new mr putin a different mr putin when he returns to the presidency my feeling is that we will this is this is there is a year magine his life as president as being a year this is just the start of his summer he is more confident he knows what he can do john paul getty described him as the most dangerous man in the world he's not is the most powerful man because he would not need bullets or bombs to to take over the world if he were to cut off the gas and the oil it would have

a terrible effect so he knows that he's confident he doesn't have to fear the west he has restored russia's pride and that is his big thing anyway pride i mean he is a proud man and i respect him for that i think it's a wonderful trait i was in your so putin is coming is your word if it's not christian do you can't with it yes absolutely i believe now we have to change the other vehicles put in already medicare thank you very much thank you thank you alexander thank you chris and good luck with your book thank you just reminded that alexander koppel journalist producer through publisher and his bridge colleague priest chris hutchins the author of lot of it who does biography work here in the studio that's it for. from all of us here spotlight back with comments out of what's going on outside until then r.t. and take a. good

lumber tour. to build a new. mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans and. this is why you should care only.

a lot of. comeback in the kremlin as you sworn in as head of state. and he promises a major reforms opinions are heated on the streets of moscow as opposition protesters clashed with police just a day before he takes office again i'll be here with more details in just a moment. arrests of human rights activist just days before his interview with. julie the song is right here on our and you can watch the explosive show. folds under the weight of. a socialist. grabs the presidency spelling change for the future.