Masha Gessen is a Russian-American journalist and author. Gessen is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College (NY), the author of eleven books, a staff writer at the New Yorker, and a contributor to numerous publications.
Masha Gessen has been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, whom Gessen met in 2012. However, their most recent book, Surviving Autocracy (2020), argues that every country – including an established democracy such as the United States - is vulnerable to the consolidation of power in the hands of one person. Autocrats do not have to resort to explicit terror, as recent developments in countries like Hungary demonstrate. They can thrive through corruption and through people’s reluctance to speak out and desire to just go about their daily lives.