Award-winning journalist and author M. Gessen, who had a firsthand view of how Vladimir Putin’s rise to power changed Russia, is speaking at UC Santa Barbara about the spread of autocracies and what’s currently happening in the United States.
"My closest friends who came here from Russia are often texting me, saying this is something right out of our recent past," said Gessen. "For example, when somebody in the neighborhood posts that ICE has been spotted in the neighborhood, it's such an eerie reminder of when people in Russia used to warn each other on social media of prisoner transfers, to be careful because it could mean arrests."
Gessen has written 11 books, including the National Book Award-winning The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.
Gessen was born in Russia, but moved to the U.S. in 1981 under a refugee program. After becoming a journalist, Gessen returned to Russia while Putin was ascending to power.
The author sees parallels between what happened in Russia and what is occurring in the United States.
"Russian media, Russian universities, all of that is really recognizable. But probably more than anything else is the spectacle of people who have power and have money. They have all the resources to resist, but they just obey."
Gessen believes the path that Russia has taken is one few expected to see here.
"It does feel like it has followed (from Russia). My friends and I talk about it, how eerily familiar it is, and we joke about it having followed us," said Gessen. "We also talk about how, in some ways, it's worse. We grew up believing that our country (Russia) may be imperfect and bound to totalitarianism. But there's the shining city on the hill. I really did believe in the United States, and its imperfect, but remarkably stable democracy. In some ways, it's harder to accept that this is happening here."
Gessen is a member of the nonbinary and transgender community, and decided to leave Russia after two decades because of concern that authorities would start taking away the kids of LGBTQ+ parents, including those who identify as they and them. But the journalist notes that it’s become a concern in the United States as well.
"It's entirely legitimate to compare what has happened to the LGBT community in Russia to what has happened to the LGBT community in the United States."
On the topic of Ukraine, the journalist feels that the U.S. has failed the country in its efforts to stand up to Russia.
"Ukraine cannot win this war, cannot survive this war without foreign assistance," said Gessen. "It's possible Europe could step up, but certainly the United States failed Ukraine."
He added that the Biden administration failed to give Ukraine the support it needed to win the war, and the Trump Administration has given up on Ukraine altogether.
Gessen's books include The Man Without A Face: The Rise of Vladimir Putin, and Surviving Autocracy, a look at the American democracy under the first Trump Administration. The journalist was a staff writer for The New Yorker, a contributor to The Washington Post, and Vanity Fair.
Gessen is currently an opinion writer for the New York Times and hosts a new series that’s part of the popular podcast Serial.
The journalist is presenting a lecture titled Politics of the Past, Politics of the Future at UC Santa Barbara's Campbell Hall on Tuesday evening at 7:30.
The event, part of UCSB Arts and Lectures, is open to the public, with tickets available at the door.
