The Wizard of the Kremlin

A Novel

By: Giuliano da Empoli, Willard Wood - translator

Narrated by: Victor Bevine

Filled with real political insight and intrigue, this thrilling novel explores the nature of power through the inner workings of Putin’s regime. Now a movie starring Jude Law, Paul Dano, and Alicia Vikander.

Known as the “Wizard of the Kremlin,” the enigmatic Vadim Baranov was a TV producer before becoming a political advisor to Putin, aka “The Tsar.” After his resignation from this position, legends about him multiply, with no one able to distinguish truth from fiction. Until one night, when he tells his story to the narrator of this book....

He immerses us in the heart of the Russian state, where sycophants and oligarchs have been engaging in open warfare, and where Vadim, now the regime’s main spin doctor, turns an entire country into an avant-garde political stage. Yet Vadim is not as ambitious as the others. Entangled in the increasingly dark secrets of the regime he has helped create, he will do anything to get out, guided by the memory of his grandfather, an eccentric aristocrat who survived the Revolution, and the mesmerizing, merciless Ksenia, whom he has fallen in love with.

Giuliano da Empoli, once a senior advisor to Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, draws on his experience behind the scenes to create an authentic, compelling portrait of power and how it corrupts.

©2022 Éditions Gallimard (P)2023 Pushkin Industries

Critic reviews

“A novel exploring the inner workings of [Putin’s] government that has captivated France…has become a popular guide for understanding [his] motives.” —New York Times

“Empoli is a skilled storyteller and with such rich material to hand it is unsurprising that [The Wizard of the Kremlin] is compelling and convincing, fully deserving of its bestseller status…Its literary achievement elevates the novel above a reductive political analysis of the workings of the Kremlin, bringing it at times closer to Dostoevsky than an academic article or an op-ed.” —New Statesman

“A must-read for anyone wondering what Russian President Vladimir Putin is up to and what the Russian people have had to go through during his tenure…this powerful book…is a page-turner.” —Foreign Policy

Genius & True

A visionary tale of our reality, the author mesmerizes us with the last evolution of our species.

Beautifully written

Hooked from the start. Beautiful writing and narration. A very interesting view from inside Russia of so much.
Excellent read. Will read it again.

Insight into dictators.

Pace and literary references, had to look up several stories to see if they were true and they were.

Quality Narrator

Very thought provoking using current events. I heard a different prospective of the philosophy from a Russian’s prospective

a glimpse of the Russian mind

incredibly powerful, illuminating, and masterfully written book, beautifully narrated work, utterly captivating from start to finish.