Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia
Joshua Yaffa argues that many Russians make compromises to realize their ambitions and accommodate themselves to the shifting demands of the state.
In his research, journalist Joshua Yaffa focuses on the way many Russians, across all segments of society, have been forced to make compromises to realize their ambitions and accommodate themselves to the shifting demands of the state. The sum of these compromises, Yaffa argues, is what actually makes the rule of Vladimir Putin possible—and what consequently determines, to a large extent, the character of Russian politics, economy, and cultural life today. In this lecture, Yaffa tells of his in-depth reporting from Moscow, the changing tenor of Russian society under Putin, and the everyday dynamics of contemporary Russia that affect citizens from Moscow to Crimea.
Meet the speaker
Joshua Yaffa is a journalist based in New York and Moscow. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and holds master’s degrees in journalism and international affairs from Columbia University, where he was a visiting scholar at the Harriman Institute and taught at the journalism school for…
