Masha Gessen

Russia-born U.S. journalist Masha Gessen (center) in a 2013 protest in Moscow against a proposed new law that would ban gay rights rallies.

From one generation to the next, Russians pass down the trauma of state terror

Books

Author and activist Masha Gessen follows the experiences of half-dozen Russians whose lives have been changed by Putin’s retro-totalitarian state.

A billboard links the agendas of US president-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Danilovgrad, Montenegro.

Navigating post-truth politics in Russia and America

Global Politics
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with reporters during a visit for a summit of former Soviet republics at Kyrgyzstan's international Manas airport outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, September 17, 2016.

How close are Trump and Putin?

Election 2016
Suspected shooter Dylann Roof sits in a police vehicle in Shelby, North Carolina, June 18, 2015. Roof, a 21-year-old with a criminal record, is accused of killing nine people at a Bible-study meeting in a historic African-American church in Charleston, So

Should we call Dylann Roof a terrorist?

Justice
Patimat Suleimanova, aunt of Boston bombing suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, holds a photo from the family archive at her house in Makhachkala.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s worldview was shaped by a jarring, unsettled childhood

Books
Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is shown in a courtroom sketch on the first day of jury selection at the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 5, 2015.

Massachusetts isn’t OK with the death penalty, but Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s jurors had to be

Justice

The state of Massachusetts doesn’t allow the death penalty, and most of the state’s residents are against it. But for the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the jurors who decided his fate in a federal trial had to allow for that possibility.

St. Basil's Cathedral

Writer Masha Gessen looks back on a pivotal year for Russia

Global Politics

From success in Sochi to the plummeting rouble, Russia has had a years of extreme highs and lows. Writer Masha Gessen has been thinking and writing about those ups and downs since leaving Russia at the beginning of the year.

Traditional Matryoshka dolls or Russian nesting dolls bearing the faces of Russia's president elect and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin are seen in a souvenir shop in Kiev March 5, 2012.

The good part about leaving Russia is no longer having to apologize for its actions

Global Politics

Author Masha Gessen left Russia seven months ago, leaving behind a burning shame over her former country’s “continuing slide into darkness.”Author Masha Gessen left Russia seven months ago, leaving behind a burning shame over her former country’s “continuing slide into darkness.”

Two members of Pussy Riot are attacked by Russian thugs while eating breakfast at McDonald’s

Conflict & Justice

With all the drama over Russia’s intentions in Crimea, another Russian story has been pushed to the back pages. Pussy Riot.
Now the Russian punk protest group is back in the headlines. There’s a disturbing video making the rounds, that shows an apparent attack on two Pussy Riot members.

Two members of Pussy Riot are attacked by Russian thugs while eating breakfast at McDonald’s

Conflict & Justice

With all the drama over Russia’s intentions in Crimea, another Russian story has been pushed to the back pages. Pussy Riot.
Now the Russian punk protest group is back in the headlines. There’s a disturbing video making the rounds, that shows an apparent attack on two Pussy Riot members.