Journalists Who Fled Russia Have Revealed The Truth About Putin

Their book debunks myths about the Kremlin system.

Russian journalists Roman Badanin and Mikhail Rubin, who were forced to leave Russia after being persecuted by the authorities, have published a detailed biography of Putin. The book, *The Tsar in the Flesh*, is nearly 800 pages long and has already won the French literary award Grand Prix Strasbourg, according to The Guardian (translation by Charter97.org).

The events of June 2021 prompted the journalists to flee. Early in the morning, FSB officers simultaneously raided the apartments of Badanin and Rubin. Prior to that, the journalists had repeatedly faced threats, interrogations, and searches.

Rubin said he first received threats in 2019 following an investigation into the head of Putin’s propaganda machine. According to him, security forces even visited his parents and accused their son of betraying Russia.

After the search, Rubin found his passport on the table. “It was a message. If they had taken it, I wouldn’t have been able to leave the country. But they wanted me to leave,” the journalist said.

A few weeks later, the authorities declared “Proekt,” the project founded by Badanin and Rubin, an “undesirable organization.” Rubin left Moscow the next day. Badanin was in Morocco with his family at the time and decided not to return.
“The choice was between prison and exile, and I didn’t want to go to prison,” says Badanin.
In the book, the journalists describe Putin’s rise from a KGB officer in St. Petersburg to the president of Russia. The authors believe that Putin is not tied to any specific ideology and views power as an end in itself.
“There’s no need to invent myths about Putin. Let the facts speak for themselves about him and his system,” Badanin stated.

The journalists also write about the persecution of Kremlin critics and the mysterious deaths of people who fell out of favor with the Russian authorities.

Even after moving abroad, Badanin does not feel completely safe. Last year, FBI agents warned him of a possible threat from Russian intelligence services.

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