OLIVER STONE, the Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning director, managed to achieve what countless journalists, news organizations and leaders around the world wanted - he was the first to get access to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, by being able to conduct a long and wide-ranging interview with him. The recordings were screened by the American television channel Showtime as a four-part documentary, the book contains a transcript of them, supplemented by many omitted parts. The Putin interviews consist of more than ten conversations - never before has the Russian leader spoken to a Western reporter in such depth and diversity. There are no taboo topics, Stone asks about sensitive topics without inhibitions, almost provocatively. Two extraordinary characters are straining against each other, the "pull it - loosen it" game is constantly going on. Putin gets the opportunity to tell the stories from his own point of view, but at the same time, the director-journalist Stone constantly and firmly questions these stories, respectfully but purposefully undermines them. Sensitive topics such as Russia's controversial role in world politics, from its support for the Assad regime in Syria to its interference in the 2016 US election, are also discussed. But we can also learn a lot about very personal issues - the president's family background, his childhood, the history of his rise to power. The Putin interviews provide a unique insight into the mindset of two extraordinary people - the leader and the artist.