Unravelling the Putin enigma

The book's usefulness is marred by maddening small errors

PUTIN’S WORLD 

Russia Against the West and With the Rest

Angela E Stent 

Twelve Books; $30; 433 pages

Russia has always been important to American diplomats, but rarely has it troubled civilians as much as it does now. The precise extent of the Kremlin’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election remains disputed, but few would deny that its foreign policy has more influence on domestic American affairs than ever before, or that understanding that policy is an urgent priority.

Angela E Stent has written Putin’s World to meet that need. Ms Stent is a director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies