Being an artist or a writer in Russia has never been particularly easy, or free of risk—especially during the 19 years since Putin became the nation’s president. For this podcast episode, writer Alex Halberstadt spoke with Masha Gessen, staff writer at the New Yorker and author of 11 books of nonfiction, including 2017’s National Book Award–winning The Future Is History. They talked about the legacies of the Soviet period, self-censorship, and what the experiences of Russia’s artists can teach us about the dangers of tyranny everywhere—a subject touched on in Gessen’s forthcoming book, Surviving Autocracy.
