Masha Gessen with Philippe Sands: Facing Down President Putin

Promoting their new book Surviving Autocracy, Russian-American author and journalist, and peerless chronicler of totalitarianism and dissent, Masha Gessen made a surprising declaration: that by the middle of 2020 it seems clear that Trump might be worse than Putin.

‘Putin is somewhat less cynical… he [believes he] is doing it for his country. Trump doesn’t even have that delusion. It’s all power and money in their purest form. And you could dig as deep as you want, you would never find a shred of responsibility.’

Cynicism and responsibility, autocracy and repression, the destruction of the social contract and democratic institutions, Gessen has spent their career arguing for the necessity of protest and resistance. In conversation with award-winning author, QC and Professor of Law Philippe Sands, Gessen reflects on truth and lies, power and corruption, and where 2020 might lead us.

This is a pre-recorded event.

Book Festival News

Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024 Communities Programme participants celebrate success of 2024
Friday 13 December

Enjoying this event? You can help us produce more like it.

Donate

Share

Watch more

Interview - Helle Helle (2015) Interview - Helle Helle (2015) We were delighted to meet the wonderful Danish writer Helle Helle before her Book Festival event in Charlotte Square Gardens to talk about her first novel to be translated into English, This Should Be Written in the Present Tense. We asked some… James Kelman (2016 Event) James Kelman (2016 Event) With the publication of Dirt Road, Scotland’s only Booker Prize winner James Kelman joins a Scottish publisher for the first time in decades. This brilliantly accessible road movie of a novel arrives with Canongate’s typical panache, alongside a film… Don Paterson: A Poet's Life Don Paterson: A Poet's Life Famous for his poetry, Don Paterson’s new book barely mentions it. Toy Fights is a raw, brutally honest, and painfully funny memoir about his first 20 years, shot through with a passion for music. Paterson explains, this is ‘a book about schizophrenia… Naoise Dolan & Naomi Ishiguro: Growing Pains Naoise Dolan & Naomi Ishiguro: Growing Pains Every year at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, we celebrate the talent, wit and skill of emerging writers. In this event, we are joined by two of the freshest voices in fiction, whose coming-of-age narratives are by turns tender and cynical in… Interview - David Crystal (2015) Interview - David Crystal (2015) Top linguist David Crystal took a moment before his event to talk with us about accents, language and how it's changing in the 21st Century. We also chatted to his fans after the event to see what they thought. You can see David's hour-long event… Alison Watt with Andrew O’Hagan: The Joy of Influence Alison Watt with Andrew O’Hagan: The Joy of Influence Alison Watt is one of Scotland’s best-known living artists, renowned for her paintings of human figures and more recently for her intimate depictions of the folds in fabrics and draperies. With titles such as Phantom and Aware, these evoke the human body… Melvyn Bragg at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Melvyn Bragg at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg returns to the Festival with a fresh take on a classic love story. Novelist Arthur travels to Paris to retell the tale of Heloise and Abelard, 12th century lovers whose affair was doomed. The surprise appearance of his… Doireann Ní Ghríofa: A Ghost in the Throat Doireann Ní Ghríofa: A Ghost in the Throat The narrator in Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat is acutely conscious that she’s occupying a female body, and that her body is itself a kind of ‘female text’ that bears witness to her life experiences. But A Ghost in the Throat is also a female… UNBOUND: Five Dials UNBOUND: Five Dials Five Dials, an online literary magazine, brought Book Festival audiences some of its leading lights in literature for an evening… Ciaran Martin with Tom Devine: Where Next for the United Kingdom? Ciaran Martin with Tom Devine: Where Next for the United Kingdom? Currently a professor at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, Ciaran Martin played a key role as a senior civil servant for David Cameron’s government in negotiating the terms of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Seven years on…