Protecting U.S. democracy, rather than tracking Russian secrets, should guide policy, author Masha Gessen says
Although the news spotlight is shining on questions about possible collusion between Russia and President Trump’s campaign organization, Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen cautions against making that concern the key focus of national attention. Instead of becoming preoccupied with the unfolding Russian story, Americans should remain actively engaged in politics if they want to safeguard the health of this nation’s democratic institutions, Gessen said Tuesday during a talk at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. “I think we have things to protect that the obsession with Russia isn’t necessarily conducive to protecting, and the thing we have to protect is politics,” said Gessen, who was joined at the talk by Nicco Mele, director of the Shorenstein Center. Gessen, who spent most of her life in Moscow but now resides in New York City, is author of the 2012 best-seller “The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise...