“A time full of hope has been replaced by a time of fear”: Svetlana Alexievich delivers Nobel Lecture in Literature
Yesterday, Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich delivered the annual Nobel Lecture in Literature, at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Past lectures have provided fascinating windows into prizewinners’ life and work, and… Read more »
Indiana governor Mike Pence gives a whole new meaning to “state-run news agency”
Earlier this week, the Indianapolis Star reported that Indiana governor and potential Republican presidential candidate Mike Pence was starting a taxpayer-funded, state-run news outlet called Just IN. This was weird. Why… Read more »
Russian and Ukrainian writers take sides in the crisis
As the situation in Ukraine turns ever more fragile and troubling, writers on all sides of the conflict have come forward and taken official positions in a series of letters… Read more »
On the eve of the Olympics, 217 authors sign open letter in protest of Russia’s anti-gay blasphemy and propoganda laws
The leadup to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia have had no shortage of controversy. Unfinished hotel rooms. The killing of stray dogs. The looming threat of violence in the… Read more »
Journalists under threat in Ukraine
As protests continue in Ukraine, journalists are finding themselves increasingly under threat. The Committee to Protect Journalists reported last week that “at least 42 local and international reporters were attacked” on… Read more »
Masha Gessen is writing a book about the Tsarnaev brothers
Well, that didn’t take long. Yesterday it was announced that Masha Gessen, author of the excellent biography of Vladimir Putin, The Man Without A Face, will be writing a book about… Read more »
The Death of Boris Berezovsky
On Saturday, Boris Berezovsky, the once powerful Russian oligarch who helped bring Vladimir Putin to power, was found dead in his home in Ascot, England, an as yet “unexplained death,”… Read more »
In Memoriam: Anna Politkovskaya
Sunday marks the six-year anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya’s assassination. A fierce and courageous journalist, Politkovskaya was murdered by what is believed to have been a contract killer, who stepped up… 1 / Read more »
Putin proposes Russian literary canon that’s “scary as hell”
In a waaaay too long essay (in English) for the Russian government newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vladimir Putin declares that he wants to establish a “Russian Canon” of 100 books that—as a summary… 1 / Read more »
“Explosive” Putin biography and its precedents
Masha Gessen’s new book, The Man Without a Face: The Rise and Crimes of Vladimir Putin, has been stirring up the Frankfurt Book Festival for its controversial take on the… 4 / Read more »