Čaroděj z Kremlu – da Empoli Giuliano (2026)

He is known as the Wizard of the Kremlin. The mysterious Vadim Baranov is a theatre director and television reality-show producer who eventually becomes the grey eminence behind Vladimir Putin, known as the Tsar. After leaving his position as political adviser, countless stories about him circulate, making it impossible to distinguish truth from fiction. One night, however, he reveals his story to the narrator of this book. Vadim's story unfolds at the heart of Russian power, where courtiers and oligarchs wage an unending war. Vadim becomes the regime's chief spin doctor, transforming the entire country into a political theatre in which the only possible reality is the fulfilment of the Tsar's wishes. When Vadim becomes too deeply entangled in the darker traps of the system he helped build, he does everything he can to escape it. The character of Vadim Baranov is based on the businessman and politician Vladislav Surkov, one of the founders of the United Russia party, which helped Vladimir Putin come to power in 2001. The Wizard of the Kremlin is a key novel about contemporary Russia, revealing the foundations of the Putin era and offering a brilliant reflection on power itself. For many months, it topped the bestseller charts in France, selling more than 320,000 copies in total. Its film adaptation received a nomination for the prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.