Reddit Reddit reviews The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin

We found 16 Reddit comments about The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
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16 Reddit comments about The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin:

u/cricket_monster · 51 pointsr/asianamerican

> Things like going to protests/marches - are they at all effective?

Very much so. Protests at airports all over the country have led to an emergency halt on Trump's immigration ban.

Moreover, consistent protests -- especially ones explicitly calling for inclusion unlike the Obama protests -- sends a clear message to the world. Continue to exercise your constitutional rights for as long as you are able.

> But what else can we do to influence policy that's being made on the national level?

Last year, there were studies and reports talking about how Millennials aren't interested in running for office for a bunch of reasons.

After Trump's election, it looks like things might change. Run For Something announced that they are grooming 1,200 Millennials to run for office. Even scientists are running for office because the Trump administration rejects climate change and is gutting environmentalist programs.

Check if any of these new politicians are running for office in your distrct. Rally behind public servants that run to establish a smarter, more compassionate nation. Work on their campaign trails if you can. Remember, we don't vote for the president -- we vote in the people that do.

Fight gerrymandering. FairVote is one such organization that addresses it on a national level.


> What's most effective and efficient? How can we make a difference as individuals?

Just be a good person. I hate the idea that your job and your activism is what determines your moral worth. People assume that the social worker at charity:water is a "better person" than the guy on Wall Street.

I think how you live your life is far more important than what you do with it. Whatever job you have, do it with integrity and do it well. If you're in a position of power, strive to create a compassionate environment and hire diversely. Follow through with all your promises, even small ones like hanging out with your friends. Show up early to everything early.

In short, be good at the little things, because ultimately, those are the things that matter. Marches and rallies are important but they don't convince anyone who doesn't already agree with you (the purpose of those events is to raise awareness and sustain morale) and they don't happen very often. A march only takes up a few hours of your day, half a day at most.

In contrast, building your character takes an entire lifetime. You are bombarded with opportunities to be a kinder, more dependable person everyday.

And when you're known as someone who never flakes out, who is kind to everyone, and who is always on time, the people in your life will respect you. So the next time you advocate a cause, people will listen. The next time you show up at a march, people will see.

And finally, read up on history. There is nothing new under the sun. Opportunists and bad leaders like Trump have existed all throughout history.

Read about how journalists covered the rises of Hitler and Mussolini. Read up on Berlusconi. Read up on how Golden Dawn continues to seize power in Greece. Read about how Putin went from being your run-of-the-mill pragmatic kleptocrat to an ultranationalist demagogue. Read about the journalists that covered Putin's regime.

Wisdom is learning from those who came before you. Of course, those situations are not 1:1 with ours, but they're a map and a compass. They provide some context to what we're going through so we can adapt and move forward.

u/dawajtie_pogoworim · 35 pointsr/politics

His cover was as a translator, but per this BBC article and Masha Gessen's book on him, his job was probably pretty boring.

According to WaPo, he may have been ultimately trying to NATO secrets and Western technology. That sounds cool in theory, but idk how fun that would have been in practice, given it was Dresden in the 80s. The WaPo article also says he was probably tasked with recruiting new officers, but as I recall, Gessen's book doesn't make mention of that. In either case, those tasks would have undoubtedly involved a ton of dull work.

Though, I'll admit that while looking into his German career, it occurred to me that his St Petersburg career (in the late 70s) could have been pretty exciting, especially since his work got him selected for an elite spy school.

u/HIGHx1000000NRG · 12 pointsr/politics

>He fired the FBI director so as to stopper investigation of his "Russian ties"? Wait a bit. How do we know that, any more than we know what is meant by "Russian ties"?

Because that's what he told the Russians - you know, the people with whom it's suspected his campaign colluded. And those ties to Russia just might be clearer if his financial records were disclosed.

>As to the Russian angle, may one ask innocently what difference Russian "influence" could really make in an American election? And what payoff are the Russians seeing for it, if so?|

The difference is to either 1) get a convenient stooge elected or 2) sow enough discontent to keep the US politically fractured. The payoff is that anything that's bad for the US is perceived as good for russia. Particularly sanctions. See Masha Gessen's book on putin.

>Have there been any signs of American concessions or moral rollovers that are likely to strengthen Vladimir Putin?

Let's see... a couple of their highest operators have been in the oval office. And so far media coverage has helped prevent any concessions from happening though they were being discussed by the POTUS elect's transition team.

>And did Trump give the Russians sensitive information in a meeting with the ambassador and foreign minister? Not according to his national security adviser.

More bullshit. McMaster gave non-answers. And then the orange one himself opened his maw to spill the beans in a mind blowing "I'm not spilling the beans" denial.

>Trump was selling his country down the river? That's what it sounds like the impeachment crowd is hinting at.

Maybe depending on whom you ask. Mostly what I get is that people are very concerned with the level of fucking incompetence and damage being done.

Seriously fuck William Murchison and the Creators - whatever the fuck that is.

u/mr_fn_wonderful · 5 pointsr/worldnews

Sure there has.

On the other hand, you might want to read this:

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514

u/vladimirpoopen · 2 pointsr/The_Donald

the more I read about Putin and his alleged assassinations of those that oppose him, the more I worry about Trump's stance on Russia. I think Trump may do a reversal on Putin after getting the intelligence reports on him. here's one attempted assassination. here

this is not concern trolling and maybe we should move a debate on Putin to ATD. has anyone read this book

u/sabinscabin · 2 pointsr/politics

I know you're asking for a broader history of Russia that goes back much further, but for recent events I wholeheartedly recommend (Man without a face: the unlikely rise of Vladimir Putin)[https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514] by Masha Gessen. This only deals with the second half of the 20th century, but it is the most penetrating and insightful exposes on Putin and his rise to power I have ever read. Gessen herself is a Soviet/Russian expatriate currently living in the US, and one of the foremost Putin critics of this generation.

u/dastweinerhund · 2 pointsr/worldnews

False flag opps are also done in Russia. Putin is a terrorist and has killed many of his own people. It's well documented that he kills journalists that speak out against his violent acts. Masha Gessen's book reveals many acts of terror against his own people and the killing of her mentor when she finally returned to Russia from Boston after years of exile for fear of the KGB and Putin. She was killed the moment she arrived in her parent's building on the stairway up to her parents house. She didn't even get to look into her parents eyes after all those years in the US. The web just makes us easier to track and Facebook is the CIA's wet dream come true.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Without-Face-Unlikely/dp/1594486514

u/Hollow_Fangs · 1 pointr/The_Donald

> If you knew me, you would know that I lived in many more countries and varied conditions than you did

Let me just state the same: If you knew me, you would know that I lived in many more countries and varied conditions than you did

> Anyway, there are much worse places than where you live, even in France.

One thing I know for sure is that you've never been to Russia. Otherwise you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense.

> whether you stay in Russia or decide to move to place you deem better. May be you are right, may be it does exist.

Oh, I'm not moving anywhere, I'm gonna stay here and try to change things. One good thing about Russia is that intersectionality and political correctness (in it's Western, "your-breathing-is-offensive-misogynic-and-oppressing" sense) are completely alien concepts here. And unlike their Western counterparts who glorify Marx and Lenin, the majority of our hipsters adore Ayn Rand and libertarianism.

> Here's some first class reading for you. It provides excellent background on the west.

I will read it. And since we're doing book suggestions here are mine:

https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Coming-Vladimir-Enemies-Stopped/dp/1610397193/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514/ref=la_B001H6MBXK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525652656&sr=1-2

https://www.amazon.com/Day-Oprichnik-Novel-Vladimir-Sorokin/dp/0374533105/ref=la_B001JOLA4G_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525652758&sr=1-1

The first two are political/historical nonfiction books, written by people who had first-hand experience with Putin's regime.

The third one is a novel, but many of the things and ideas depicted there has come/are coming to life in Russia right now, unfortunately. Orwell's 1984 and Burgess' 1985 (read it too, by the way, great book) are good descriptions of what's going on in the West and where it is headed with its leftist ideology. And this Vladimir Sorokin's book does the same for Russia.

So do me a favor and read these three books (and do check out "1985", I'll say it again - great book). And I'll read your book as soon as I finish "Journey to the End of the Night".

u/dlbush · 1 pointr/NeutralPolitics

Masha Gessin's book on the rise of Putin The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin https://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Face-Unlikely-Vladimir/dp/1594486514 does a great job of explaining how the Russian oligarchy functions and includes a detailed account of Browder's experience too.

u/wrathofoprah · 1 pointr/worldnews

Had no idea about that. Then I read The Man Without a Face.

u/pugzilla · 1 pointr/Chechnya

I've enjoyed the following, not being from that part of the world, culture or religion you'd have to take my insight with a grain of salt. There doesn't seem to be that much information about that part of the world, one of the reasons I find it so fascinating. It's fairly invisible. There is typically one viewpoint from this media, red team or blue team, nothing seems to be that unbiased. I found "The Oath" to be the most informative and interesting.

BOOKS-

u/jonastesch · -2 pointsr/russia

I found this one really interesting: http://www.amazon.com/The-Man-Without-Face-Unlikely/dp/1594486514

I would love to hear other peoples opinions about it.