Handpicked in 1999 by the 'Family' surrounding an ailing and increasingly unpopular Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, with very little governmental or administrative experience beyond having served as deputy mayor of St Petersburg, seemed like the perfect choice in the eyes of an oligarchy bent on moulding the president's successor to its own designs. Suddenly the boy who had scrapped his way through post-war Leningrad schoolyards, dreaming of ruling the world, was a public figure, and his popularity soared. Russia and an infatuated West were determined to see the progressive leader of their dreams, even as with ruthless efficiency Putin dismantled the country's media, wrested control and wealth from the country's burgeoning business class, and decimated the fragile mechanisms of democracy. Within a few brief years, virtually every obstacle to his unbridled control was removed and every opposing voice silenced, with political rivals and critics driven into exile or to the grave. As a journalist living in Moscow, Masha Gessen experienced this history firsthand, and for The Man Without a Face she has drawn on information and sources no other writer has tapped. Her horrifying and spellbinding account of how this 'faceless' man manoeuvred his way into absolute - and absolutely corrupt - power will stand as a classic of narrative non-fiction.
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Review
'A brave and important book ... Her engaging prose combines a native's passion with a mordant wit' --Telegraph
`A clear, brave book' --Observer
'A courageous, enlightening account of Putin's rise to power' --Independent on Sunday
`A brilliant new book that describes the gangsterism at the heart of the regime' --Daily Mail
`Gessen is a talented and versatile journalist' --Financial Times
`Gessen's account of the fortunes of those who have suffered at Putin's hands is persuasive and even moving'
--Irish Times
'Gessen writes with raw authority about Putin's rise'
--Herald
`A luminous study ... Gessen has written a brave book, demolishing numerous myths and legends'
--Guardian
`A clear, brave book' --Observer
'A courageous, enlightening account of Putin's rise to power' --Independent on Sunday
`A brilliant new book that describes the gangsterism at the heart of the regime' --Daily Mail
`Gessen is a talented and versatile journalist' --Financial Times
`Gessen's account of the fortunes of those who have suffered at Putin's hands is persuasive and even moving'
--Irish Times
'Gessen writes with raw authority about Putin's rise'
--Herald
`A luminous study ... Gessen has written a brave book, demolishing numerous myths and legends'
--Guardian
About the Author
Masha Gessen is a Russian-American journalist and author, and editor of the Russian-language Snob magazine, aimed at Russians living abroad. She has contributed to Granta, Slate and the New Statesman, among other publications. She is the author of several previous books, most recently Perfect Rigor and Blood Matters. She lives in Moscow.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By Astolpho
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Reading this extraordinary book I kept thinking of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht's recasting of Hitler as a Chicago greengrocer and gangster. Putin as here depicted has the same unswerving greed, obsessive ambition and total banality. He has absolutely no shame.
Everyone with the remotest interest in politics, Russia or just the future of the world should read this book. For years the media in the West have shut their eyes to the true nature of Mr Putin's Russia. Liberal opinion has sort of assumed that he was entitled to the benefit of the doubt - long after there was any doubt to have the benefit of - from decades of practice in giving the benefit of the doubt to the Soviet Union. For years it was only some far-right-wingers who, to their credit, noticed and wrote about the enormity of what was being inflicted on the Russian people.
This includes theft on a titanic scale, both of money and elections, the calculated destruction of democratic structures and the rule of law, and the murder of Russian citizens when short-term political considerations suggest it. It is all dispassionately set out here.
As an account of Mr Putin's gruesome career it is hard to fault this book. For a start it is beautifully written. This is not just in the sense that it is elegant and cliché-free and reads as compellingly as a novel, but, more importantly, in that Ms Gessen manages to get across complex matters clearly and succinctly - and some of the shenanigans by which various enormous sums of money reached various back pockets were complex.
She is also fair. She obviously loathes her subject, but she attributes particular atrocities to him only where there is clear evidence.... Read more ›
Everyone with the remotest interest in politics, Russia or just the future of the world should read this book. For years the media in the West have shut their eyes to the true nature of Mr Putin's Russia. Liberal opinion has sort of assumed that he was entitled to the benefit of the doubt - long after there was any doubt to have the benefit of - from decades of practice in giving the benefit of the doubt to the Soviet Union. For years it was only some far-right-wingers who, to their credit, noticed and wrote about the enormity of what was being inflicted on the Russian people.
This includes theft on a titanic scale, both of money and elections, the calculated destruction of democratic structures and the rule of law, and the murder of Russian citizens when short-term political considerations suggest it. It is all dispassionately set out here.
As an account of Mr Putin's gruesome career it is hard to fault this book. For a start it is beautifully written. This is not just in the sense that it is elegant and cliché-free and reads as compellingly as a novel, but, more importantly, in that Ms Gessen manages to get across complex matters clearly and succinctly - and some of the shenanigans by which various enormous sums of money reached various back pockets were complex.
She is also fair. She obviously loathes her subject, but she attributes particular atrocities to him only where there is clear evidence.... Read more ›
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Mathew
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of the best books on modern Russia I have ever read. Masha Gessen follows the mysterious background of Vladimir Putin, Russia's strong man, and discovers many unknown facts - and most of them rather frightening ones. It's a must to read for everyone who takes an active interest in Russia. But the book is so well written it can also be read by people who just want to generally know what's going on in world politics.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Edna85
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this book and felt that it was written very well. Masha provides an interesting background of Putin including his involvement with the KGB, his time as mayor of St Petersburg to his presidency or Russia.
It is diffucult knowing what to believe about Putin as the western media is never going to give the real story. This book being written by a Russian who has lived there during Putin's reign makes the book seem more believable than what western media would. Parts of it I found biase as the writer is anti-Putin, so as with other stories you are never going to get the full truth. All in all, though, I found the book to be very open and thought provoking and a good insight into how many Russians feel about the Putin.
It is very up to date and includes thoughts about the most recent election held in Russia which caused many protests within Moscow and St Petersburg which Masha talks about being involved in.
It is diffucult knowing what to believe about Putin as the western media is never going to give the real story. This book being written by a Russian who has lived there during Putin's reign makes the book seem more believable than what western media would. Parts of it I found biase as the writer is anti-Putin, so as with other stories you are never going to get the full truth. All in all, though, I found the book to be very open and thought provoking and a good insight into how many Russians feel about the Putin.
It is very up to date and includes thoughts about the most recent election held in Russia which caused many protests within Moscow and St Petersburg which Masha talks about being involved in.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Brian Lait
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are in any way a Putin admirer then best you don't read this book. I had learned to totally dislike and mistrust Putin before reading this book, but did not feeel I knew that much about him. Books such as Putin's Russia by Lilia Shevtsova only seemed to skim the surface as I suspect she was very much looking in from the outside in the same way that most western authors/journalists/observers would be doing. However, with this book I have the strong feeling that it is written by someone with a real understanding of what is going on as only a national of the country can do.
Gessen is clearly a skilled journalist who, for me, has clearly described what she sees and feels in no uncertain terms and I finally feel I have got to know Vladimir Putin. He's a very dangerous and very unlikeable animal.
There is, however, one aspect of modern Russian life I still am not clear about and that is whether the inner workings of the Kremlin are still pulling all the strings or not. I feel that there are some bodies behind Putin who have, as it were, simply unleashed him for him to do as he wishes.
Gessen is clearly a skilled journalist who, for me, has clearly described what she sees and feels in no uncertain terms and I finally feel I have got to know Vladimir Putin. He's a very dangerous and very unlikeable animal.
There is, however, one aspect of modern Russian life I still am not clear about and that is whether the inner workings of the Kremlin are still pulling all the strings or not. I feel that there are some bodies behind Putin who have, as it were, simply unleashed him for him to do as he wishes.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Bill Tell
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The strengths of this book is that it is written by a Russian journalist living in Russia and it is up to date. Most accounts of Russian politics, and Putin in particular, are by non-Russian analysts so I was intrigued to see if a Russian account would throw up anything different. Masha Gessen's view that Putin schemed, bullied and manipulated to establish an authoritarian regime with himself at the centre is not new. However, she suggests some interesting insights into Putin's mind-set and the processes through which he was recruited to, and then took control of, the power networks that claimed Russia. Along the way she tells some good stories about people and scams from the chaotic post-soviet period that enabled Putin to rise unseen to the top. She also tells us what it was like to be part of the opposition protests that took place between the Duma and presidential "elections".
This is a journalistic account and Gessen makes it clear from the outset that she is strongly opposed to the Putin regime. It is not an impartial analysis that you could quote for an academic essay but it is very readable and, in the end, quite optimistic. I recommend it to anyone interested in Russian politics.
This is a journalistic account and Gessen makes it clear from the outset that she is strongly opposed to the Putin regime. It is not an impartial analysis that you could quote for an academic essay but it is very readable and, in the end, quite optimistic. I recommend it to anyone interested in Russian politics.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stalin 2 - the sequel
I finished Masha Gessen's evisceration of Vladimir Putin's neo-Stalinist regime the day after Boris Berezovsky's death/murder suicide - how timely was that? Read more
Published 2 months ago by The Outsider
1.0 out of 5 stars
Sheer polemic
Gessen's book appears to be based on an article she wrote a few years back in Vanity Fair. I recall it took my breath away. Read more
Published 3 months ago by A Celt
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hiding in Plain Sight - a KGB man for the 21st Century
Creating psychological profiles of world leaders started during World War II and is now a common activity within governments. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mac McAleer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good writing, but favours some over others
This is much more than a biography of Putin. It is one of the best overviews of the fall of the USSR that I have read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. Charles H. Price
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential reading
One defect of the Western media highlighted by this book is its lack of sustained focus on developments in Russia particularly since the turn of the millennium. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Hamsun
2.0 out of 5 stars
Author's contempt for Putin means cannot be sure of accuracy
Vladimir Putin is one of the current world leaders whose beliefs, principles and motivation are largely a mystery. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. S. Hardman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Be very afraid.
How to emerge from mediocrity to become one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet. It demonstrates his character and failings mercilessly and also the current sick... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Dr. Allan Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Read
This was a great read telling me the background to the rise to power of one of the most powerful men in the world. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Charles Shepherd
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lack of obectivity
This book is well presented, describing the rise of Vlad Putin through describing the historical events of that tough period of the Russian modern history, the problem is that the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Karam Almustaa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Watch this man!
Ordered from Amazon. Well written, intriguing, very revealing, opens your eyes, makes you think, takes you behind that expressionless stare. Whose pulling his strings?!
Published 13 months ago by Emile Zola
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