There are “two things that the Russians require of the state: internal order and external power.” So says a fictional President Vladimir V. Putin in “Le Mage du Kremlin” or “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” a novel exploring the inner workings of his government that has captivated France, winning awards and selling more than 430,000 copies .
Published shortly after Russia invaded the Ukraine last February, the novel has become a popular guide to understanding putin’s motives. He also turned its Swiss-Italian author, Giuliano da Empoli, into a sought-after “Kremlinologist,” invited to lunch with the French prime minister and on France’s leading morning news show to discuss developments in the war.
The success illustrates the continuing power of literature in France, where novels have long shaped public debate. Élisabeth Borne, the prime minister, said through a spokesperson that she “really enjoyed her book, which mixes fiction and reality and echoes international news and the war in Ukraine.”
But the novel’s success has also raised concerns about whether it is shaping France’s view of Russia.
disputes
Critics say the book conveys a largely sympathetic portrayal of Putin that can influence policy in a country already punished for being too forgiving of the Russian leader.
“The Wizard of the Kremlin”, which sometimes reads like an essay, is based on a fictional account of a powerful Putin aide He has long pondered Western decadence, America’s goal of bringing Russia “to its knees,” and Russians’ preference for a strong leader — typical Kremlin talking points that critics say go unchallenged throughout the pages.
At best, the book’s popularity echoes what Gérard Araud, France’s former ambassador to the United States, called “a kind of French fascination with Russia” fueled by a shared history of revolution, empire and masterpieces. cultural.
At worst, critics say, it indicates lenient views on Putin that linger in France and may shape the country’s stance on the war, as reflected in President Emmanuel Macron’s calls not to humiliate Russia.
“The book conveys the clichés of Russian propaganda with some small nuances,” said Cécile Vaissié, a political scientist specializing in Russia at Rennes 2 University. “When I see its success, that worries me.”
Dissecting politics was nothing new to da Empoli. A former deputy mayor of Florence, Italy, and adviser to an Italian prime minister, he has already published a dozen political essays in Italian and French, including one on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential bid.
But da Empoli wanted to try the fiction and had a “fascination” with the way Russian power is projected. So he modeled the narrator of his debut novel on one of the country’s most intriguing figures, Vladislav Y. Surkov. “The challenge of the book is to take the devil’s point of view,” da Empoli said.
Until very recently, Surkov was Putin’s main ideologue and one of the architects of extreme centralized control exercised by the Russian president, earning him a reputation as a puppeteer and the title “Putin’s Rasputin”.
“The rather fictional nature of the character impressed me,” said da Empoli, a soft-spoken and sober 49-year-old who now teaches at Sciences Po University in Paris. He added that he had visited Russia four times and had read numerous essays on the country’s politics and Putin’s regime during his investigation.
The narrator recounts the inner workings of Putin’s government. He crosses paths with real-life Kremlin players like Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the infamous Wagner mercenary group, with whom he sets up troll farms to spread disinformation and division in the West.
Da Empoli handed over his manuscript to Gallimard, his publisher, two years ago. He said that he didn’t expect much from his first attempt at fiction. Then came Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.
publishing success
The novel, long scheduled for publication in the spring, was one of the first new looks at Putin. It soon became the talk of the town. “I don’t go to dinner or lunch without offering the book,” said Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, a specialist in Russian history who has condemned the war but has also previously defended Putin. “It’s a key to understanding Putin.”
Hubert Védrine, a former French foreign minister, said that “word of mouth was so good” that he felt compelled to read the novel, which he described as “incredibly credible.”
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” was the fifth best-selling book in France in 2022. She received an award from the Académie Française and did not reach the Goncourt, the most prestigious in France.
Leading politicians and diplomats publicly praised the novel. Édouard Philippe, a former prime minister, called it a great “meditation on power”. Da Empoli was invited to all talk shows to discuss the current conflict.
“Obviously, circumstances have changed the way the book was received,” said da Empoli, who sees his novel more as political fiction than a guide to understanding Russia. “I didn’t necessarily expect that.” He wasn’t the only one surprised.
Several experts in Russia have expressed their dismay at the enthusiastic reception of the novel. They say the book is mostly lenient towards Putin, portraying him alongside oligarchs fighting for the good of the people and “getting Russia back on its feet” in the face of Western scorn.
In one passage, the narrator describes the pride of Russians upon learning that Putin had paid a surprise visit to troops fighting in Chechnya on January 1, 2000, his first day as president. “There was a leader in charge again,” he says.
Françoise Thom, a professor of Russian history at the Sorbonne, said these descriptions “completely hide the sordid dimension of Putin’s reality” and are “very close to the image of Russian propaganda”.
The political scientist Vaissié put it more directly. “It’s a bit like Russia Today for Saint-Germain-des-Prés,” she said, referring to the Kremlin-funded television channel and the Parisian stronghold of the French literary elite.
Reviews
Several French diplomats disagreed, arguing that the novel is, if anything, a useful look at the thinking of the Putin government. “We also have to listen to this speech,” said Sylvie Bermann, a former French ambassador to Moscow. “It doesn’t mean we agree with that.”
French right-wing groups have long sung Putin’s praises. And leading intellectuals such as Carrère d’Encausse have endorsed the Kremlin’s view that the West humiliated Russia after the end of the Cold War.
Under normal circumstances, “The Wizard of the Kremlin” might have fueled a harmless literary dispute of the kind that regularly grips France. But not in times of war.
Discussions about the book occur just as the divisions in Europe over how to deal with Putin. While Eastern European countries like Poland say it must be defeated outright, Western European nations like France have vacillated between unequivocal financial and military support for Ukraine and moving closer to Putin.
“This book has almost become a history and politics textbook for French leaders,” said Alexandre Melnik, a former Russian diplomat who opposes Putin. He pointed to Macron’s comments that seemed sympathetic to Russia’s grievances. Three presidential aides declined to say, or said they did not know, whether Macron had read the novel.
Védrine, the former foreign minister who has at times advised Macron on Russia, acknowledged that if the French president were to read the book, it would not lead him to take an aggressive stance towards Russia. He added that he saw a medium-term benefit in the book’s popularity: making the case for communicating with Putin, “whenever it’s acceptable.”
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” was published in Italian last summer, sold some 20,000 copies and won praise in Italy as a great novel. Nearly 30 translations have been published or are on the way, including into English, but not Russian or Ukrainian, so far.
Fuente: The New York Times
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