The Man Without a Face

Posted on 22 February 2018 by Masha Gessen

The Man Without a Face is the chilling account of how a low level, small minded KGB operative ascended to the Russian presidency and, in an astonishingly short time, destroyed years of progress and made his country once a threat to her own people and to the world.Handpicked as a successor by the family surrounding an ailing and increasingly unpopular Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin seemed like a perfect choice for the oligarchy 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 Russia 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.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 account of how a faceless man maneuvered his way into absolute and absolutely corrupt power has the makings of a classic of narrative nonfiction. Read The Man Without a Face by Masha Gessen – kino-fada.fr This should beappropriately titled Why you Should Hate Vladimir Putin It is not really a biography on Putin, but rather feelslike a few long essays about random parts of Putin s life that have been laid out in chronological order with a bunch of horror stories sprinkled in Often times large chunks of chapters aren t even about his life, but rather give background information on random people and their causes, which are then followed by how they were most certainly poisoned shot b This should beappropriately titled Why you Should Hate Vladimir Putin It is not really a biography on Putin, but rather feelslike a few long essays about random parts of Putin s life that have been laid out in chronological order with a bunch of horror stories sprinkled in Often times large chunks of chapters aren t even about his life, but rather give background information on random people and their causes, ...Vladimir Putin, the KGB, and the Restoration of Soviet RussiaEvery once in a while I m shocked to learn anew that the American news media has missed the mark in its reporting of events around the world Masha Gessen s recent portrait of third term Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Man Without a Face, is an excellent case in point.For example, one year ago, in December 2011, we learned about large demonstrations in Moscow protesting the obviously rigged outcome of the latest Russian elections Vladimir Putin, the KGB, and the Restoration of Soviet RussiaEvery once in a while I m shocked to learn anew that the American news media has missed the mark in its reporting of events around the world Masha Gessen s recent portrait of third term Russian President Vladimir Putin, The Man Without a Face, is...I hate books like this I hate them with a passion Books that mix speculation with facts are the worst, because you can t tell where one ends and the other begins.For this book to have any worth, you have to at least divide it into two parts before Putin comes to power in the year 2000 and after The first before part that discusses Vladimir s childhood, education and his KGB later FSB career is complete and utter trash Those chapters have minimal factual basis or sources and are littered w I hate books like this I hate them with a passion Books that mix speculation with facts are the worst, because you can t tell where one ends and the other begins.For this book to have any worth, you have to at least divide it into two parts before Putin comes to power in the year 2000 and after The first before part that discusses Vladimir s childhood, education and his KGB later FSB career is complete and utter trash Those chapters have minimal factual basis or sources and are littered with words ...Based on who you ask, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, is either the Ultimate Badass who Single Handedly Saved Russia or a crony capitalist autocrat who is the Russian Mussolini So who is this Putin guy anyway Gessen offers a round condemnation of Putin, stopping only from calling him an evil little tyrant Although one of her interviewees does She starts the biography with his early childhood a schoolyard bully turned fervent club member and early years in the KGB He was a devoted, but rel Based on who you ask, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, is either the Ultimate Badass who Single Handedly Saved Russia or a crony capitalist autocrat who is the Russian Mussolini So who is this Putin guy anyway Gessen offers a round condemnation of Putin, stopping only from calling him an evil little tyrant Although one of her interviewees does She starts the biography with his e...Masha Gessen does a marvelous job on her chronicle of Russian politics The book is courageous, easy to read and well researched for a book of this length Gessen covers roughly the last 25 years of Russian politics She shows how the attempt at democracy has failed, so far, and manages to place most of the blame on Putin Her descriptions of Putin and his actions over the l...I thought that this would be a portrait of the thug who rules Russia Sadly, it wasabout Masha Gessen than Vladimir Putin Poorly written in tedious prose that has no spark and evokes little interest in the reader It is also exceedingly self referential and the objectivity is ...view spoiler Bettie s Books hide spoilerMasha Gessen is brave As a dual American and Russian citizen she chose to live openly in Russia as a married in the US lesbian journalist investigating corruption from 1991 to 2013 This book is a short introduction to the life and character of Russia s current President, which is, essentially a book on how corruption got rooted in post glasnost Russia with the rise of Vladimir Putin.Despite its sturdy infrastructure in Moscow, the American press let the country and perhaps the world down Masha Gessen is brave As a dual American and Russian citizen she chose to live openly in Russia as a married in the US lesbian journalist investigating corruption from 1991 to 2013 This book is a short introduction to the life and character of Russia s current President, which is, essentially a book on how corruption got rooted in post glasnost Russia with the rise of Vladimir Putin.Despite its sturdy infrastructure in Moscow, the American press let the country and perhaps the world down by not telling the story The US press preoccupied with dangling chads gave very little ink to Putin s silencing the opposition press, making the legislature accountable to him, taking over the judiciary and finally the economy All this was in progress when George Bush looked into Putin s eyes and no one questioned his benign appraisal.What is b...Some pretty scary stuff here Fascinating stuff about the head of Russia Sometimes it seems too crazy, as wild allegations such as bombs killing Russian citizens set up by Russian security forces can t be backed up by evidence But other stories are, and are shocking enough The author thinks that Putin is a small minded, incompetent KGB man, longing for Soviet greatness, and compulsively taking whatever he can, but surely he there has to b...This is a history, really, not an essay But reporter Masha Gessen somehow manages to make a 3oo page recent events history feel as streamlined and narrative as an essay, which is definitely no small thing It s also a Vladimir Putin biography, which by definition must span the disintegration of the Soviet empire and the reformation of whatever it is we re calling modern Russia these days With her reporter s sense of what matters, Gessen runs thru the dirty wars in Chechnya, the gross incompete This is a history, really, not an essay But reporter Masha Gessen somehow manages to make a 3oo page recent events history feel as streamlined and narrative as an essay, which is definitely no small thing It s also a Vladimir Putin biography, which by definition must span the disintegration of the Soviet empire and the reformation of whatever it is we re calling modern Russia these days With her reporter s sense of what matters, Gessen runs thru the dirty wars in Chechnya, the gross incompetence of the sinking of the submarine Kursk, the Moscow apartment bombings, the Beslan school hostage fiasco, and ...

English
22 February 2018

Masha Gessen