{"product_id":"the-man-without-a-face-the-unlikely-rise-of-vladimir-putin","title":"The Man Without a Face by Masha Gessen","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThe Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAccolades \u0026amp; Praise\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNational Book Award winner Masha Gessen's biography of a ruthless man's ascent to near-absolute power.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e“In a country where journalists critical of the government have a way of meeting untimely deaths, Gessen has shown remarkable courage in researching and writing this unflinching indictment of the most powerful man in Russia.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Thanks to fearless reporting and acute psychological insights, Masha Gessen has done the impossible in writing a highly readable, compelling life of Russia's mysterious president-for-life.”\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—Tina Brown, The Daily Beast\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSynopsis\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Man Without a Face \u003c\/em\u003eis the chilling account of how a low-level, \u003cstrong\u003esmall-minded KGB operative\u003c\/strong\u003e ascended to the Russian presidency and, in an astonishingly short time, \u003cstrong\u003edestroyed years of progress \u003c\/strong\u003eand made his country once more a threat to his own people and to the world.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHandpicked as a successor by the \"family\" surrounding an ailing and increasingly unpopular Boris Yeltsin, \u003cstrong\u003eVladimir Putin seemed like a perfect choice for the oligarchy\u003c\/strong\u003e to shape according to its own designs. Suddenly the boy who had stood in the shadows, dreaming of ruling the world, was a public figure, and his popularity soared.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRussia and an infatuated West were determined to see the progressive leader of their dreams, even as he seized control of media, sent political rivals and critics into exile or to the grave, and smashed the country's fragile electoral system, concentrating power in the hands of his cronies.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAs a journalist living in Moscow, Masha Gessen experienced this history firsthand, and for \u003cem\u003eThe Man Without a Face \u003c\/em\u003ehas drawn on information and sources no other writer has tapped.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis account of how a \"faceless\" man maneuvered his way into absolute—and absolutely corrupt—power is the definitive biography of Vladimir Putin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSummary\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin\u003c\/em\u003e is a 2012 book by Masha Gessen about Vladimir Putin and his rise to power and reign.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bust-Down Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50333030252859,"sku":"1594486514","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0855\/2077\/7531\/files\/9781594486517.jpg?v=1767757726","url":"https:\/\/bustdownbooks.com\/products\/the-man-without-a-face-the-unlikely-rise-of-vladimir-putin","provider":"Bust-Down Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}