In the West's collective imagination, Vladimir Putin is a devious cartoon villain, constantly plotting and scheming to destroy his enemies around the globe.But how did an undistinguished mid-level KGB officer become one of the most powerful leaders in Russian history? And how much of Putin's tough-guy persona is a calculated performance?In Accidental Czar, Andrew S.Weiss, a former White House Russia expert, and Brian "Box" Brown show how Putin has successfully cast himself as a cunning, larger-than-life political mastermind - and how the rest of the world has played into the Kremlin's hands by treating him as one.They shatter all of these myths and expose the man behind the facade.