Mage of the Kremlin

He was known as the Wizard of the Kremlin. The mysterious Vadim Baranov was a theatre director, a reality TV show producer, and ultimately the grey eminence behind Vladimir Putin, known as the Tsar. When he leaves his position as a political adviser, countless stories circulate about him, in which it is impossible to distinguish truth from fiction. But one night, he reveals his story to the narrator of this book.

Vadim’s story unfolds at the heart of Russian power, where courtiers and oligarchs wage a ceaseless war. Vadim becomes the regime's main spin doctor, transforming the entire country into a political theatre – where the only reality is fulfilling the Tsar's wishes. When Vadim gets drawn too deeply into the darker machinations of the system he helped build, he does everything he can to break free.

The character of Vadim Baranov was based on the entrepreneur and politician Vladislav Surkov, one of the founders of the United Russia party, which helped bring Vladimir Putin to power in 2001.

The Wizard of the Kremlin is a major novel about contemporary Russia. It exposes the underpinnings of the Putin era and presents a brilliant reflection on power itself.

For many months, the book topped the bestseller charts in France, selling more than 320,000 copies in total.