The author Vladimir Surkov, used his pen name Vladislav Surkov to publish today's book report. 'Almost Zero' published in 2009 is a fascinating character study of the author. He was essentially Putin's spin doctor before falling from grace back in 2020. [1] His strategy inverts our common understanding of media manipulation. Let's review a few politicians who found creative ways to use the media. For example, let's say Berlusconi in the early 2000s was the prototype. He controlled the media, ...