Putin is an uneducated, unintelligent, uncultured man who has no plan. — Masha Gessen Man Copy Share Image
Incomprehensible messaging is a very important part of Russian propaganda. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
Abstracted hatred is incredibly potent. There's never the risk of having it challenged by the reality of living human beings. — Masha Gessen Hatred Copy Share Image
When you're part of the opposition you want to stay. It's part of your identity. You're useless if you leave. You feel… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
There can be a conspiracy, but the presence of a conspiracy is actually not an excuse for conspiracy thinking. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him. — Masha Gessen Americans Copy Share Image
“A state born of protest against inequality had created one of the most intricate and rigid systems of privilege that the world… — Masha Gessen Inequality Copy Share Image
Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists. — Masha Gessen Being Copy Share Image
I've learned over the years to hear what Putin is railing against in his own railing way. — Masha Gessen 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
With Pussy Riot - this was a prank! It was a brilliant, artistically gifted prank. But they didn't expect to go to… — Masha Gessen Brilliant 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
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
“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
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 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
Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try… — Masha Gessen Choices Copy Share Image
“Where do you get your information?” Masha asked what seemed at the moment a logical question. “There,” said the lieutenant, and he… — Masha Gessen Israel Copy Share Image
When your doctor and neighbours and child's schoolteachers know you are gay, there is no closet for you to hide in. — Masha Gessen Children Copy Share Image
I think Putin's popularity was genuine when he first came to power. He was seen as a welcome relief from the Yeltsin… — Masha Gessen Era Copy Share Image
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
When you lose your freedom, you lose, first and foremost, the opportunity to choose the company you keep. — Masha Gessen Business 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
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
There aren't a lot of things that are extraordinary about Putin, but his greed is truly extraordinary. — Masha Gessen 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
The most difficult and, in some ways, the most rewarding thing I've ever been through was emigrating as a teenager. — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
If you grew up in Boston, you actually grew up thinking that Patriots' Day is a major American holiday, sort of like… — Masha Gessen Copy Share Image
I mean, hunger strike is almost a ritual in a Russian prison colony. It actually has been going back to Soviet times.… — Masha Gessen Hunger Copy Share Image
