The Man Without a Face

The story of Putin's rise from unknown (perhaps even of unknown parentage) youth in St. Petersburg to leader of Russia includes a diverse cast of characters and quite a bit of luck (both bad and good). I did not have many of the cultural references that would be expected for a well-prepared reader - especially with regard to Russian holidays, politicians, and daily life. The author attempts to explain these without dwelling, but I still needed to look things up. That being said, I could still get the gist of the story (and the many smaller stories within).

Overall, the stories paint a picture of a selfish and spiteful man that manages to put on a mask to the outside world while crushing his countrymen. The book does not claim to be objective, and Masha certainly has personal reasons to not like Putin, the book includes hundreds of footnotes and references to published documents, videos, and books in Russian and English. The book has at times terrified and fascinated me, as I am now inspired to learn more about these events. I'm especially interested to read the book of Putin's former boss in St. Petersburg, Sobchak (A Dozen Knives at my Back) and that of Alan Goldfarb writing about Alexander Litvinenko (Death of a Dissident).

I could recommend this to anyone interested in history or modern civics.