Was Putin's rise unlikely?

Dr. Oleg Manaev evaluates the book The Man without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladmir Putin by Masha Gessen in this podcast. I'm really impressed by how Gessen's book flows on multiple tracks, tracing Putin's life back to boyhood, the story of his hometown of St. Petersburg, his KGB experience, and finally the last quarter-century of Russian history," Manaev said. "Even though many interpretations remain controversial, this book helps to understand modern Russia." Manaev is Global Security Fellow at the University of Tennessee Institute for Nuclear Security.