'I Love Russia' stitches together reportage from the past 15 years with personal essays, assembling a kaleidoscopic narrative that author Kostyuchenko understands may be the last work from her homeland that she’ll publish for a long time—perhaps ever. It exposes the inner workings of an entire nation as it descends into fascism and, inevitably, war.

She has bravely reported on human rights violations and the increasing repression of civil society institutions, and her book focuses on the experiences of those at the edges of society who face systematic oppression, but whose voices are rarely heard. The discussion will focus on life in an increasingly repressive and authoritarian Russia and its effects on the country as a whole.

SPEAKER

Elena Kostyuchenko is a Russian independent journalist. For 17 years she was a special correspondent of Novaya Gazeta, until the newspaper was shut down under the pressure of Russian authorities in March 2022. She reported on conflict, crime, human rights and social issues. Kostyuchenko was among the first to prove the presence of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. She covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the second day of the war. Now she collaborates with the independent Russian exiled media Meduza. Her book was released in October 2023. Her work was acknowledged with multiple awards including European Press Prize, the Gerd Bucerius Award-Free Press of Eastern Europe, and Paul Klebnikov Prize.