Humor and Brutality in Moscow's Red Square

Masha Gessen, Russian investigative journalist who visited us March 8th, is back in Moscow (against the advice of her friends, family and readers).

Here's a recent post from the "Latitudes" blog of the New York Times / International Herald Tribune.

MOSCOW — We spent most of April Fool’s Day laughing. My friends and I started right around midnight on Saturday when, sitting around my kitchen table, we began talking about the protest scheduled for the next day, April 1: Strolling in Red Square while wearing white ribbons....

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Killing People for Their Moscow Apartments

Masha Gessen, who visits Thursday, March 8, writes on the New York Times blog about Russian "raiders" who seize valuable Moscow real estate by force and intimidation.

MOSCOW — A text message woke me up Friday morning: “Masha, Michael Shulman has had his head bashed in. He is in intensive care. Three attackers in view of a video camera — Kashin-style. A neurosurgeon is needed.”

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Apologizing to Syria

Masha Gessen, who visits from Moscow on 3/8, apologizes to the people of Syria on behalf of the people of Russia in the New York Times.

She also talks about what it's like to attend a Moscow protest in temperatures of minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

"I cannot speak for all Russian citizens, but I can tell you this much: the government that on Saturday blocked the U.N. Security Council’s resolution on Syria does not represent the people of Russia. It holds power in my country because it has rigged elections and has used money and fear to keep tens of millions of people in line for years — you know how that goes. Russians were far too complacent for far too long, and for that I am sorry." More.

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