Masha Gessen on the Ins and Outs of Russia
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 August 2019
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What sort of country would compel you to flee it, draw you back ten years later, then force you away yet again after two decades? Masha Gessen knows the answer all too well, having dedicated her career to writing and reporting about Russian society from both within and outside her native country. A true polymath, Gessen’s wide-ranging books and articles cover mathematics, history, human rights, counterterrorism, and much more.
Masha joined Tyler in New York City to answer his many questions about Russia: why was Soviet mathematics so good? What was it like meeting with Putin? Why is Russian friendship so intense? Are Russian women as strong as the stereotype suggests — and why do they all have the same few names? Is Russia more hostile to LGBT rights than other autocracies? Why did Garry Kasparov fail to make a dent in Russian politics? What did The Americans get right that Chernobyl missed? And what’s a good place to eat Russian food in Manhattan?
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded June 19th, 2019
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:08.4 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. |
| 0:12.5 | Learn more at mercatis.org. |
| 0:15.2 | And for more conversations, including videos, transcripts, and upcoming dates, visit |
| 0:20.4 | ConversationsWithTyler.com. |
| 0:35.9 | I'm honored tonight to be here with Masha Gesson, who is one of America's most influential |
| 0:40.7 | public intellectuals, also one of Russia's most influential. |
| 0:44.6 | Masha is a very regular columnist for The New Yorker, as you all probably know, and she's |
| 0:49.8 | written many books on all kinds of topics, including Soviet mathematics, Putin, her grandmothers, |
| 0:56.5 | genetic screening, and just about anything else you might find interesting. |
| 1:01.1 | Masha is a true polymath and extremely impressive to all of those who know her. |
| 1:05.3 | So Masha, welcome. |
| 1:06.3 | Thank you very much. |
| 1:07.6 | And we just dive right in. |
| 1:09.4 | Obviously, the first question. |
| 1:11.2 | Why was Soviet mathematics so good? |
| 1:13.8 | Soviet mathematics was particularly good in the second half of the 20th century. |
| 1:19.5 | And basically because of the arms race, because the Soviet Union realized, you know, World |
| 1:23.9 | War II created the conditions for the Soviet Union to become a superpower. |
| 1:29.4 | And they realized very quickly that the way to make that happen was to develop weapons |
| 1:35.2 | technology. |
| 1:36.5 | And so there was a huge organizing and recruitment effort around the country to find kids who |
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