Vladislav Surkov was Putin’s official adviser on Ukraine, but before that he was the man who helped bring the new tsar to power. If he distanced himself last year, he remains the only one to deserve the sinister appellation of “Mage du Kremlin”, the title of the fascinating novel that Giuliano da Empoli has just dedicated to him. [Plusieurs sources russes font aujourd’hui état de l’assignation à résidence de Vladimir Sourkov, ce que ne confirme pas le Kremlin – lire notre encadré ci-dessous].
In this book published by Gallimard [dans sa version originale, en français] on April 14, Vladislav Surkov becomes Vadim Baranov – because “the facts are real, but the dialogues and private life imaginary”, explains the author in a Parisian café.
“The idea I started working on seven or eight years ago was to put myself in the shoes of this type of character. However, paradoxically, fiction is the only vector that allows us to reach a form of truth.
The Mage of the Kremlin talks about avant-garde theater and dictatorship, spin doctors and violence (which from the beginning has been at the heart of the Putin regime); the dim lights of the Western bourgeoisie and the implacable harshness of the chandeliers of Moscow or St. Petersburg, as well as the parallel reality that official propaganda has always fed Russians, long before the lies about the Boutcha massacre. Completed a year ago, the book sheds light on the current disaster.
CORRIERE DELLA SERA: As an epigraph to your novel, you placed a quote from the philosopher Alexandre Kojève, “Life is a comedy. You have to play it seriously”. Why this choice ?
GIULIANO DA EMPOLI : She sums up the spirit of the character and of this whole story well: in a gray world of former KGB officials and racketeers, Surkov [aujourd’hui âgé de 57 ans] graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Moscow; he writes novels under pseudonym and composition
The rest is reserved for subscribers…
- Access all subscribed content
- Support independent writing
- Receive the Mail Alarm Clock every morning
Discover all our offers
Source of the article
Corriere della Sera (Milan)Founded in 1876, the first Italian daily always mentions “In the evening” (“evening”) in its title, although it has been going out in the morning for more than a century. Serious and sober, the newspaper knew how to weather political vicissitudes while maintaining its independence.
From birth, the Courier asserted itself as the spokesman for the industrial bourgeoisie of the North. Its format, very large for a modern daily life, contributes to this image of seriousness and tradition. It belongs to RCS Mediagroup, bought in 2016 by businessman Urbano Cairo, which also owns the La7 channel.
Like other Italian national newspapers, its circulation has suffered a sharp decline in recent years, but it remains at the top of the rankings.
The newspaper is accompanied by a multitude of supplements including Set (friday), I Woman (feminine on Saturday) and Reading (Sunday).
Read more
Nos services