Masha Gessen facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Masha Gessen
|
|
|---|---|
| Маша Гессен | |
Gessen in 2015
|
|
| Born | 13 January 1967 |
| Nationality | Russian and American |
| Citizenship |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Keith Gessen (brother) |
Masha Gessen (born January 13, 1967) is a well-known Russian and American journalist, author, and translator. They write mostly in English but also in Russian. Masha Gessen is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. They have written a lot about fairness and rights for all people, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Masha Gessen has written several non-fiction books. They have also contributed to many famous newspapers and magazines like The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Washington Post. Since 2017, they have been a staff writer for The New Yorker.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Masha Gessen was born in Moscow, Russia, into a Jewish family. Their grandmothers faced many challenges during their lives, including difficult times in Poland and Russia.
In 1981, when Masha Gessen was a teenager, their family moved to the United States through a program that helps refugees. Later, in 1991, Masha Gessen moved back to Moscow and started working as a journalist. They have citizenship in both Russia and the United States. Masha Gessen has three brothers: Keith, Daniel, and Philip.
Journalism Career
Masha Gessen was part of the leadership team for an organization called Triangle in Moscow from 1993 to 1998. This group worked to support the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Masha Gessen also led demonstrations in Moscow to support these rights.
Masha Gessen was a volunteer board member at PEN America for nine years. This organization supports writers and free expression. They resigned in 2023 because they disagreed with how PEN handled an event involving Russian authors. Masha Gessen felt that the Russian authors, who were critical of their government, should have been allowed to speak.
In 2008, Masha Gessen wrote about Vladimir Putin for Vanity Fair magazine. They described his leadership as a step backward for Russia.
Between 2011 and 2013, Masha Gessen wrote many articles about Russia for The New York Times blog. They covered topics like laws affecting LGBTQ+ people and challenges faced by journalists.
In 2013, a Russian politician named Vitaly Milonov spoke about a law that stopped Americans from adopting Russian children. He mentioned Masha Gessen's family as an example, which caused controversy.
Dismissal from Vokrug sveta
In September 2012, Masha Gessen was the chief editor of Vokrug sveta, Russia's oldest popular-science magazine. They were fired after refusing to send a reporter to cover an event with President Putin. Masha Gessen believed the event was using environmental concerns for political reasons. After they tweeted about being fired, Putin called them. He offered them their job back, but Masha Gessen turned it down.
Radio Liberty
.jpg)
In September 2012, Masha Gessen became the director of the Russian Service for Radio Liberty. This is a U.S. government-funded radio station. Soon after Masha Gessen started, many staff members were fired, and the station lost its Russian broadcasting license. The exact reasons for these changes and Masha Gessen's role are not fully clear.
Return to the U.S.
In December 2013, Masha Gessen moved back to New York. They felt it was important for their family's safety because new laws in Russia could affect families like theirs. Masha Gessen also felt that they were being targeted as a journalist. They decided it was best for their family to leave Russia.
In 2014, Masha Gessen told ABC News that a Russian law had caused more violence against LGBTQ+ people. They said it led to attacks on clubs and festivals and made LGBTQ+ parents feel unsafe.
Masha Gessen also worked as a translator for the TV show The Americans.
As of June 2023, Masha Gessen teaches as a professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. They also taught at Bard College and Amherst College. In 2017, they published their tenth book, The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.
Arrest warrant by Russia
In August 2023, Russia issued a warrant for Masha Gessen. They were accused of sharing information about the Russian army's actions in Ukraine that the Russian government considered incorrect. This happened after Masha Gessen discussed events in the Ukrainian city of Bucha during an interview. In July 2024, Masha Gessen was found guilty in their absence and sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Personal Life
Masha Gessen has citizenship in both Russia and the United States. They have been married several times. In 2004, they married Svetlana Generalova, who was also involved in the LGBTQ+ movement in Moscow. They later divorced. By 2013, Masha Gessen was married to Darya Oreshkina. In 2024, Masha Gessen married Lynne Echenberg.
Masha Gessen has three children: two sons and a daughter. Their oldest son, Vova, was adopted in Russia in 1997. Their daughter, Yolka, was born in the U.S. in 2001. Their third child, a son, was born in 2012.
In 2005, Masha Gessen had surgery to reduce their risk of breast cancer.
Masha Gessen shared in 2020 that they are nonbinary and started using they/them pronouns. They remember wishing to be a boy when they were five years old. Their parents were very supportive of this.
Awards
Masha Gessen has received many awards for their writing and journalism:
- 2005: National Jewish Book Award for Ester and Ruzya: How My Grandmothers Survived Hitler's War and Stalin's Peace
- 2012: Stora Journalistpriset (Swedish Grand Prize for Journalism)
- 2013: Media for Liberty award for their article "The Wrath of Putin"
- 2015: University of Michigan Wallenberg Medal
- 2017: National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia
- 2018: Hitchens Prize
- 2023: Hannah Arendt Award
- 2024: Polk Award in Commentary for In the Shadow of the Holocaust
Summaries of Select Works
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin
In this book, published in 2012, Masha Gessen tells the story of how Vladimir Putin became powerful and describes recent Russian politics. The book has been translated into 20 languages.
Reviewers have called the book "beautifully clear" and "courageous." It describes the background of Putin and the values he grew up with. Some reviewers noted that it shows Putin as a strong leader, which can be seen as a criticism of his rule.
The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy
Published in 2015, this book looks into the lives of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. They were responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.
See also
- LGBT rights in Russia
- Russia under Vladimir Putin
