Welcome to Vladimir Putin's phantasmagoric world, where a heady mixture of Orthodoxy, socialism, imperialism, racism, homophobia, and Mother Russia worship defines and distorts reality. Vovochka is the story of "Vovochka" Putin and his intimate friend-a KGB agent with the same nickname. The two Vovochkas recruit informers in Berlin's gay bars, spy on East German dissidents, survive the trauma of the Soviet Union's collapse, fight American, Ukrainian, Jewish, and Estonian "fascists," and plot to restore Russia's power and glory. As their mindset assumes increasingly bizarre forms, Vovochka Putin experiences bouts of self-doubt that culminate in a weeklong cure in North Korea. A savage satire, Vovochka is also a terrifyingly plausible account of Vladimir Putin's evolution from a minor KGB agent in East Germany to the self-styled Savior and warmongering leader of a paranoid state."Buy the Book: Russia's Macho Leader Exposed: True Confessions from Vovochka, Putin's Best Friend and Confidant" (Alexander J. Motyl) by Michael Johnson, 11.16.15: "This book is long overdue-a sendup of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the macho horseman and judo master so often photographed with rippling pecs. The reality, says this comic novel, is quite the opposite... Motyl's story succeeds on two levels: it overlays actual events with a slightly skewed fictional story, and it exploits the bombast of Russian officialdom by pretending to take it seriously. The result is a parody in the great tradition of free expression." -The American Spectator"The farcical depiction suggests Putin engaged in same-sex relations as part of his espionage activities during the Cold War... Motyl's satiric romp makes use of Russian literature, geopolitics, Greek mythology and current trends in Moscow's embrace of the notion of 'traditional values' to craft a humorous (though at times disturbing) critique of Putin, one which, while laughable, evinces embedded Anglophone stereotypes about Russia and its leaders." -Robert A. Saunders, "12. Geopolitical enemy #1? VVP, anglophone 'popaganda' and the politics of representation""Vovochka drips with veracity, with the truth of today's Russia, of not the Soviet mindset but the mindset of Holy Russia. The reader is left with the impression that, even though the events and dialogue might not have occurred exactly as portrayed, there is enough authenticity to the thoughts and behavior of the two Vovochkas to make it all very plausible... and very chilling. Nothing funny here./ Mr. Putin's Russia has changed little. Holy Russia is back in vogue. The tsar has returned from the grave. Only a miracle can prevent Russia and its people from sliding back to its deep-rooted ways./ One more thing, dear reader. The orange and blue cover of Vovochka was rendered by the author of the "infamous" "Ukraine's Orange Blues" column. Isn't that just too cool?" -Myron Kuropas, The Ukrainian WeeklyAlexander J. Motyl is a writer, painter, and professor. Nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2008 and 2013, he is the author of seven novels, Whiskey Priest, Who Killed Andrei Warhol, Flippancy, The Jew Who Was Ukrainian, My Orchidia, Sweet Snow, and Fall River, and a collection of poems, Vanishing Points. Motyl's artwork has been displayed in solo and group shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto and is part of the permanent collection of the Ukrainian Museum in New York and the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre in Winnipeg. He teaches at Rutgers University-Newark and is the author of six academic books, many articles, and a weekly blog on "Ukraine's Orange Blues."