My aim in writing this book was to try to discover how Russian President Vladimir Putin became a ruthless dictator who is detested the world over.Was it nature, or nurture? And whatever the case, does his mindset fit with any of the well-described personality disorders to be found in the textbooks? The answer is both yes and no. Putin clearly has a toxic combination of personality disorders, but this is not the complete answer.That is to be found in a little-known scientific paper published by a female psychologist two and a half decades ago.