Vladimir Putin the Russian opposition and by international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for procedural irregularities. Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the Pussy Riot performance on 21 February, and subsequent trial. An estimated 8,000–20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May, when eighty people were injured in confrontations with police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. A counter-protest of Putin supporters occurred which culminated in a gathering of an estimated 130,000 supporters at the Luzhniki Stadium, Russia's largest stadium.
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin revealing accounts of his life, and she uses interviews with people who knew Putin, before he rose to power, to form her conclusions. The book describes Vladimir Putin's early life, including his relationship with his parents and his school life under a communist government. Gessen uses Putin's early years to show the reader how he was shaped into the man he became. The book covers controversies and wars Putin was involved in, such as the First Chechen war and contains stories about former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin. It goes on to explain the relationship between him and his wife. It