I lead our Moscow bureau, a team of journalists covering a vast territory from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific and from the Arctic to the Caucasus and Central Asia. For the moment, much of our team, including me, is based in Berlin, given the risks now facing reporters working in Russia. My biggest focus right now is on President Vladimir V. Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. In general, I write about major events in Russia and try to unpack the opaque world of Russian politics. I also work to understand Russia’s role in the world and its fast-changing economy, as well as the dynamics in other former Soviet republics. I’m committed to exploring the changes in culture and society across these regions, as well as the global impact of the war in Ukraine.
My Background
I’ve covered Russia since 2018, when I arrived there as Moscow bureau chief for The Washington Post. I joined The Times the following year. I started my career in 2008 as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. I wrote about commercial real estate and then telecommunications until 2013, when I moved to Berlin to cover Germany for the Journal.
My article about the thawing permafrost of Siberia was part of a Washington Post series that won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting in 2020. I was also part of the Times team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 2023 for our coverage of the war in Ukraine. I was born in Moscow and grew up in Heidelberg, Germany, and St. Louis, Missouri. I hold a degree in social studies from Harvard University, where I wrote my senior thesis on the Kremlin’s push for influence on the internet.
Journalistic Ethics
Like all of my Times colleagues, I’m committed to upholding the standards of integrity outlined in our Ethical Journalism Handbook. For every story, I seek to speak to as many people as possible and do my best to understand what’s going on, and what it means. In covering Russia, it’s my job to talk to Vladimir Putin’s most active supporters as well as his fiercest opponents, and everyone in between. I work to find stories that aren’t being told, begin every reporting effort with an open mind and am committed to doing my job with empathy, nuance, accuracy and fairness.
Heads of state and diplomats who have interacted with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee say she uses humor, and talk of food, to help leaven hard discussions.
Russia’s defense minister said he needed to talk to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about an alleged Ukrainian operation. What happened next remains murky.
A visit by the foreign minister of Ukraine to Guangzhou this week signals Kyiv’s desire to involve Beijing in peace talks that China has thus far largely snubbed.
Days after a trip to Ukraine, the Hungarian leader arrived in Moscow for a visit, but E.U. officials made clear that he was not there on behalf of the bloc.
Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has been accused of espionage. The newspaper and U.S. officials have rejected the claims.
By Katrin Bennhold, Anton Troianovski, Luke Vander Ploeg, Alex Stern, Sydney Harper, Lexie Diao, Brendan Klinkenberg, Paige Cowett, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop and Chris Wood
The announcement appeared to be the Russian leader’s latest attempt to raise the stakes in his conflict with the West, coming less than two weeks after his visit to North Korea.