Who is Vladimir Putin? As Russias dominant political figure for more than a decade, observers have variously described him as a man from nowherea man with no face, substance, or soul. Mr. Putin constantly assumes new guiseshis public relations team has orchestrated his images as big-game hunter to scuba diver, from biker to nightclub crooner. But in this book, Russia experts Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy reveal Putin as a man of many and complex identities, a man more intricate and multifaceted than he wants the world to believe he is. Drawing on many sources, including their own personal encounters, Hill and Gaddy argue that there are, in fact, several real Putins.
