Autocratic power requires the degradation of moral authority - not the capture of moral high ground. — Masha Gessen Authority Copy Share Image
“Half of the population is behind bars and the other half is guarding them,' Russians have said of their country since the… — Masha Gessen Russia Copy Share Image
It's not natural for people in the opposition to leave. It's always a personal catastrophe. — Masha Gessen Catastrophe Copy Share Image
There aren't a lot of things that are extraordinary about Putin, but his greed is truly extraordinary. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Putin needed an enemy, an Other, against which to mobilize. LGBT people are really convenient: we're sort of the ultimate foreign agent. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
To exercise ignorance, racist prejudice, a love of power and total disregard for factual accuracy, one has to inhabit a world where… — Masha Gessen Ignorance Copy Share Image
Putin has built a mobilisation society, his sky high popularity numbers, which Donald Trump so envies, are fully dependent on being able… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Since 9/11 we have somehow come to accept the 'radicalization' narrative, which basically holds that people become terrorists through a series of… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Trump very much wants to be liked by Putin and I think sincerely admires him. Putin doesn't know how to deal with… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Putin was very careful to gradually sort of rotate people in and out of power, to make sure that he had competent… — Masha Gessen Bureaucrats Copy Share Image
Of course, Putin may well have reasons for wanting Trump to be president - not least Trump's apparent skepticism toward NATO and… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Were there open gays and lesbians before the West started influencing Russia? No, there weren't. In fact, the most out person in… — Masha Gessen Country Copy Share Image
I think some people have blind faith in American institutions without knowing a whole lot about them and think they will stand… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
“Here is what I was trying to figure out: how a miracle happens. A great work of art -- something that makes… — Masha Gessen Art Copy Share Image
There's not a whole lot of similarity between the two societies, Russian and American. There are similarities behind psychological forces. One thing… — Masha Gessen Country Copy Share Image
“One time, Alexander Nikolaevich discovered, Stalin invited an old friend back in Georgia to Moscow for a reunion. They dined and drank—Stalin… — Masha Gessen Friendship Copy Share Image
In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts… — Masha Gessen Constitution Copy Share Image
The reason Vladimir Putin released Pussy Riot, the Greenpeace activists who were kidnapped in international waters and kept in prison for two… — Masha Gessen Activist Copy Share Image
It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
The law in Russia bans "propaganda of homosexuality," which is defined as dissemination of information that can cause harm to the spiritual… — Masha Gessen Children Copy Share Image
“The Bolsheviks placed a premium on the “creative intelligentsia,” as it was termed—writers, artists, and, especially, filmmakers—as well as scholars and scientists.… — Masha Gessen Art Copy Share Image
After the Soviet Union collapsed, people thought the last Soviet generation was going to be the great hope for democracy. When that… — Masha Gessen Democracy Copy Share Image
Scholars of totalitarianism talk about the importance of this constant movement, this forever war, this need to do battle on behalf of… — Masha Gessen Battle Copy Share Image
One of the things that I really value about Russian culture is that on the private level it allows for a huge… — Masha Gessen Culture Copy Share Image
I would much rather engage people in a conversation about deregulation and reversals of women's rights and civil rights and LGBT rights… — Masha Gessen Civil rights Copy Share Image
I don't have a lot of hope for Russia when Putin goes, because I think that the kind of damage that has… — Masha Gessen Country Copy Share Image
Of course, Oliver Stone is not Donald Trump. But he shares with him a certain way of seeing the world and being… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
I realized - I've been an opposition journalist in Russia for a long time. And I've often considered how real risks are… — Masha Gessen Journalism Copy Share Image
Any country is either becoming more democratic or less democratic. I think the United States hasn't tended to its journey toward democracy… — Masha Gessen Country Copy Share Image
It seems that probably Putin's father maintained some connection to the secret police throughout his life. One sign of that is that… — Masha Gessen Connection Copy Share Image
Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Journalists casually use terms like crossing the border illegally when referring to asylum seekers - when in fact there is no law… — Masha Gessen Asylum seekers Copy Share Image
Every time I talk to somebody about Putin, it's like, 'But isn't he vastly popular?' Is that really the most important question?… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
We learn to think of history as something that has already happened, to other people. Our own moment, filled as it is… — Masha Gessen Comparison Copy Share Image
I kept thinking, I'm not going to do political journalism, because there's no way to keep my principles and be a political… — Masha Gessen Integrity Copy Share Image
“[following the Kursk disaster].. "Putin appeared on CNN's Larry King Live. When King asked "What happened?", Putin shrugged, smiled - impishly, it… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
My hypothesis is that for people who are both trained and inclined to think in rigorously logical ways, it is particularly difficult… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
I wanted to show something that Americans don't usually think about when they think about Russia, which is the extreme stratification of… — Masha Gessen Russia Copy Share Image
Putin has this ritual of having the televised meetings with ministers. Cameras will be allowed in to film the first five minutes… — Masha Gessen Film Copy Share Image
![“[following the Kursk disaster].. "Putin appeared on CNN's Larry King Live. When King asked "What happened?", Putin shrugged, smiled - impishly, it seemed - and said "It sank".” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/287/masha-gessen-2322_putin_following-the-kursk-disaster-putin-appea_545976.png)
