Part one: The present as prologue. Arms and the man -- Part two: Background check. The education of V.V. Putin ; Dresden -- Part three: Ascent. Russia's fall, Putin's rise ; The Russia Putin inherited and its spiritual ills -- Part four: Core issues. Oil : a wasting asset ; The heart of the matter : Ukraine -- Part five: North- and eastward. Russia's Mecca : the Arctic ; Manifesting destiny : Asia -- Part six: The twilight of paranoia. How Vladimir Putin learned to stop worrying and love the Internet -- Part seven: The end and after. Russia without Putin, Putin without Russia.