Russia under Vladimir Putin has proved a prickly partner for the West, a far cry from the democratic ally many hoped for when the Soviet Union collapsed. Abroad, he has used Russia's energy might as a foreign policy weapon, while at home he has cracked down on opponents, adamant that only he has the right vision for his country's future. Former BBC Moscow correspondent Angus Roxburgh charts the dramatic fight for Russia's future under Vladimir Putin - how the former KGB man changed from reformer to autocrat, how he sought the West's respect but earned its fear, how he cracked down on his rivals at home and burnished a flamboyant personality cult, one day saving snow leopards or horse-back riding bare-chested, the next tongue-lashing Western audiences. Drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews in Russia, where he worked for a time as a Kremlin insider advising Putin on press relations, as well as in the US and Europe, Roxburgh also argues that the West threw away chances to bring Russia in from the cold, by failing to understand its fears and aspirations following the collapse of communism.

安格斯•罗克斯伯勒（Angus Roxburgh），英国著名新闻记者。20世纪80年代，作为《星期日泰晤士报》新闻记者驻莫斯科期间，成为被俄罗斯政府驱除出境的8位外交官和3位记者中的一个。这被认为是冷战时期最大的间谍丑闻之一。2006年，安格斯所在的公关公司被克林姆林宫选中，作为从事俄罗斯报道多年、精通俄语的资深媒体人，他又阴差阳错地成了普京政府的新闻顾问。

2006~2009年间，安格斯得以近距离地观察普京的执政风格与俄罗斯的高层政治，遍访8个国家的政府首脑、外交部长和高官，获得了大量第一手的资料，这无疑为本书的写作提供了权威而独家的珍贵素材。