Russian journalist Oleg Blotsky holds his book entitled "Vladimir Putin: Life Story" during a news conference in Moscow, January 21, 2002.
He is fearless, altruistic, steel-willed, hospitable, unbelievably hardy, unpretentious and warm -- and he has lost none of these qualities since becoming Russia's president.
It is a scrupulously unbiased snapshot of Vladimir Putin if you believe the author of the first volume of a Kremlin-backed trilogy on Putin's life, written in the unmistakable style the Soviets once reserved for Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin.
"I do not think it is a eulogy. I simply conveyed what people (who met Putin) said," Oleg Blotsky told a news conference on Monday as he posed for photos with his "Vladimir Putin".
The book, complete with a genealogical tree back to the beginning of the 18th century and a chapter dedicated to Putin's ancestors, spans from his birth to the start of his career as a KGB spy.
Putin contributed to the work with extensive interviews to Blotsky.The result is a selection of memories by Putin's friends and acquaintances who hold nothing but the warmest recollections of him. The only person in the book who does not heap praise on the president is Putin himself, who is characteristically humble.
Praise bestowed on the Kremlin leader ranges from young judoist Putin fighting "like a snow leopard" to many years later his being visibly moved when decorated war veterans in the Kremlin stood up in salute as he entered the hall.
普京--优秀男人的生活故事
热情、无畏、无私、好客、谦逊、具有钢铁般的意志，即使在当上俄罗斯总统之后，他仍然保持了所有这些可贵的品质。这就是《弗拉基米尔·普京：生活的故事》中所描述的俄罗斯总统普京。
由克里姆林宫支持编写的人物传记《弗拉基米尔·普京：生活的故事》近日面世。该书是对生活中的普京总统的真实写照。这本《弗拉基米尔·普京：生活的故事》仅仅是普京三部曲中的第一部，体裁是传统的苏联传记写法（当初布尔什维克领袖列宁的传记也是运用的这种体裁）。
该书作者奥列格·布洛特斯基在1月21日召开的新闻发布会上说：“这本书不是在为他（普京）歌功颂德。我只是转述了认识普京的人所说的话。”
该书从普京在列宁格勒（今圣彼得堡）出生一直讲到他成为一名前苏联克格勃，并详细列出了普京的家谱，最早可以追溯到18世纪初，其中用了一整章的篇幅讲述了普京祖先的故事。
克里姆林宫对布洛特斯基大开绿灯，方便他个人更多地接触普京。而该书的大部分则是普京的朋友和熟人对普京的回忆，内容大多都是温馨美好的往事。书中唯一没有赞扬普京的人是普京自己，而这恰恰显示了普京谦虚的品质。
朋友们对普京给予了很高的评价。有人把热爱柔道的年轻普京形容为一只勇猛的雪豹；还有朋友讲述了多年后已经入主克里姆林宫的普京，当胸戴勋章的二战老兵对他敬礼时被深深感动的故事。
