The Man Without a Face

The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin

By: Masha Gessen

Narrated by: Masha Gessen

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award-winner Masha Gessen's biography of a ruthless man's ascent to near-absolute power.

“In a country where journalists critical of the government have a way of meeting untimely deaths, Ms. Gessen has shown remarkable courage in researching and writing this unflinching indictment of the most powerful man in Russia.” (The Wall Street Journal)

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 more a threat to its 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 is the definitive biography of Vladimir Putin.

©2012 Masha Gessen (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A Slate and San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2012

"[An] absorbing portrait.... Gessen is most illuminating when she details the historical accidents that allowed an unexceptional bureaucrat to rule Russia." (The New Yorker)

“Part psychological profile, part conspiracy study.... As a Moscow native who has written perceptively for both Russian and Western publications, Gessen knows the cultures and pathologies of Russia...[and has] a delicious command of the English language.... A fiercely independent journalist.... Gessen’s armchair psychoanalysis of Putin is speculative. But it is a clever and sometimes convincing speculation, based on a close reading of Putin’s own inadvertently revealing accounts of his life, and on interviews with people who knew Putin before he mattered.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“In a country where journalists critical of the government have a way of meeting untimely deaths, Ms. Gessen has shown remarkable courage in researching and writing this unflinching indictment of the most powerful man in Russia.... Although written before the recent protests erupted, the book helps to explain the anger and outrage driving that movement.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Clear and intelligent political reporting

Gessen is an excellent writer and witness of Russia's return to the totalitarian failed state of Lenin and Stalin. In a precise, direct narrative she chronicles how KGB operative Putin, with sullen cunning, stumbled into his dictatorship thereby completely closing any hope of individual political freedom opened by the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Glimpse into the rise of Vladimir Putin

Eye opener for anyone interested in Putin rise from FSB stooge to perhaps the most dangerous man against Democracy

This a must read book

I wish western leaders had read this book when it was written; perhaps we would have been better prepared for the war in Ukraine and what will sure come. This book is simply incredible. Anyone who wishes to understand Putin and his actions should read it.

Another brilliant MG book

I love Masha Gessen 's writing. She truly is a master of succinctly and eloquently detailing the history of Russia since 1991 & in this book, Gessen details the mess that Vladimir Putin has made of the Russian political and economic landscape during his reign. I also read Gessen 's The Future is History so I know that ironically, that we Americans have lucked out to have Masha's amazing brain in the US due to more of the same repression by Putin detailed in both books- that his hateful persecution of LGBT community and independent journalists have inadvertently, blessed the West with another exiled genius coming to work here, and Gessen is such a vital voice on Russia and authoritarian rule. Thank you Masha for your patient tutelage of Westerners and Russians alike of the rise of the world's worst dictator in the 21st century.

Still relevant

This is a s an excellent book and still relevant and insightful as to explain how the war in Ukraine is unfolding. As a Russian born in the same generation as The author, I really enjoyed and was troubled (the paradox of two contradictory emotions) to relive the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century.

Thank you

I appreciate this book and especially it’s author. Masha Gesson is an important resource in these times.

Masha Gessen has the key to understanding Putin

This was an outstanding book, and it was wonderful to hear Masha’s Narration. The storytelling was fantastic, and the insights and sidebars fascinating. I feel like I just learned about what made Russia tick from Yeltsin to today. Thank you Masha for so courageously covering Putin, the thug.

A remarkable story about the rise of a dictator.

Gessen writes in a somewhat dry and matter of fact style that seem to be very Russian. The subject matter is also very Russian of course. It is a fascinating story with an incredible amount of detail exposing the rise of a not too sofisticated street thug to become the head of the Russian federation. He later develops into a worldwide egomaniac. The connection to the present authoritarian US President makes it even more contemporary and interesting for any American who wants to understand the relationship between US and Russia.

Excellent history and analysis and Putin

I already knew, as does everyone in the free world now, that Putin is a monster. This excellent book, written and narrated by a courageous Russian reporter who had to flee the country, is nevertheless an eye-opener. It should be required reading by everyone, especially, to the extent possible, by Russians. Unfortunately it will be impossible for most Russians for obvious reasons. The author provides a detailed account and analysis of Putin’s life, thinking, and character that is incredibly insightful and frightening.

Great read!

Most informative as it reveals a world we are not familiar with in western civilization. It is a continuation of the bizarre study of Russian history.