Book about Putin must-read in Russia

MOSCOW: Several schools in Russia have received an official recommendation to purchase copies of a book about the childhood and school years of Vladimir Putin, who is set to return to the presidency in March polls. Several schools in the central Tver region to the northwest of Moscow have received a written recommendation to buy copies of the book entitled " Vladimir Putin. Parents. Friends. Teachers" published in 2004, a local official said. Written by the Russian strongman's teacher Vera Gurevich, the book traces Putin's early life, from his hardscrabble childhood to school and early career years. Lyudmila Karandashyova, deputy head of the administration of the Tver region's Bologovsky District some 330 km north of Moscow, said the administration had recommended district schools to buy the book. She denied however that educational establishments were under pressure to do so. " We provide recommendations — inform school principals about an opportunity to buy such and such book," Karandashyova told AFP. Kommersant broadsheet, which first reported the move earlier this week, posted a copy of the local administration's request to buy hundreds of copies of the book on its website. The recommendation had been issued ahead of a meeting between Putin's teacher Gurevich and schoolchildren at the town of Bologoye last month. " Ours is a small town. Artists and writers do not visit us," said Karandashyova. " Children read her book and prepared questions. It was a wonderful meeting, very interesting." " The world would be a better place if there were more events like that," she added. " There are not enough books about the role of personality in history." After serving two consecutive terms as president between 2000 and 2008 and a term as prime minister, Putin is seeking to reclaim his old Kremlin job in presidential elections on March 4.