About a Boy: The Story of Vladimir Putin

By: Audacy Studios | Puck
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  • Summary

  • The West's obsession with Vladimir Putin's KGB past often misses the biographical detail that can be captured by a single word: dvor. The word means courtyard in Russian, but to a Russian speaker, it is evocative of a whole universe. It was the space where Putin, like so many Soviet kids of his generation, grew up and learned an unforgiving, often brutal social code. Puck journalist Julia Ioffe introduces Westerners to that universe and explains why it’s critical to understanding the Russian president and what he might do next in the war against Ukraine. 
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Episodes
  • About a Boy: The Story of Vladimir Putin

    About a Boy: The Story of Vladimir Putin
    Oct 2 2023
    In the West, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is always seen as one of two things: KGB spy or judo master. But to anyone who’s ever lived in the Soviet Union, Putin is something else entirely: a street kid. Join journalist Julia Ioffe as she explores how Putin’s childhood taught him lessons that shape his thinking and actions to this day. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    3 mins
  • Chapter 1: The Ghosts

    Chapter 1: The Ghosts
    Oct 4 2023
    The Soviet Union suffers unthinkable horrors during World War II. Leningrad, the city into which Vladimir Putin is born, loses more than a million of its citizens to starvation, and Vladimir Putin’s parents barely make it out alive. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    31 mins
  • Chapter 2: The Rat

    Chapter 2: The Rat
    Oct 4 2023
    Soviet baby boomers are born into a country ravaged by war. Given that parents are largely absent — either dead, traumatized, or working to make ends meet – children spend most of their time in the dvor, the urban courtyard. The dvor is Vladimir Putin’s world. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    27 mins

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Profile Image for Robert Kearney

Amazing and Informed Podcast

I'm only on episode three and this is an amazing podcast. I can't recommend it enough for people wanting to know the world Putin grew up in and what formed him into the type of leader he is today.

Full of first hand accounts of people who knew Putin and others who grew up in similar circumstances.

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