The Man Without a Face

Masha Gessen: The Man Without a Face

 

 

 

Masha Gessen is a brilliant Russian born US raised investigative journalist who returned to Moscow to live and write about the complex and corrupt politics of Vladimir Putin and his cohorts.

Taking a critical stance against the Russian leadership and state is a courageous move given the assassinations of a number of journalists already. But for Gessen, it's an exciting time to be in Russia and to write about the relationship between the individual and the state. Her book about Putin - The Man Without a Face - is so titled because this is the man onto whom others can project what they want.
She has done a great job researching his childhood and early life; his earlier incarnation as a low level pen pushing KGB agent in East Germany. It was a dull job but Putin loved the KGB and it was his life's ambition to be a top grade espionage man. It appears all he brought back from his stint in East Germany was some cash and a second hand washing machine!
But it was the post Soviet era where Putin built his reputation and a personal fortune. Gessen alleges that he embezzled state funds and by the end of the 90's was undoubtedly "a millionaire".
Gessen demolishes the careful building of the myth of Putin and details many examples not only of his corrupt practices but also of the callous and cynical handling of the tragedy of the sinking of Russian submarine, the Kursk, where the crew died at the bottom of the Barents Sea.
Gessen presents a rare insight into the current Russian leadership. She is in conversation here with the ABC's Jane Hutcheon at this year's Sydney Writers' Festival.