What Was It Like Growing Up in Soviet Russia?

Sebastian Schulder: Putin had a typical soviet childhood, in the sense that he lived in a communal apartment with other people. His father fought in wiwer too; his grandfather had been stalan's cook. And i think as a smallish young boy, felt the need to prove himself. He had this sort of abiding insecurity that forced him to find the largest person he could on the playgroundd and go hit him. It's really a kind of law of the jungle type philosophy that he came out of,. you know, stalen ara, leningrad...Schulder: I wonder how much we learned from puton's first hand experience