Event 213

Jana Bakunina and Jamison R Firestone talk to Luke Harding

Understanding Putin’s Russia

 – Discovery Stage

A Russian in Britain and an American in Russia share their unique perspectives. Jana Bakunina is an author who returned to her hometown after Putin invaded Ukraine, to find her once liberal friends and family now happy to go along with Putin’s regime. Jamison R Firestone is an American lawyer who was at the centre of exposing scandal, corruption and murder while working in Russia. Together they bring incredible insight to this discussion with the Guardian’s foreign correspondent Luke Harding.

Jana Bakunina’s The Good Russian: In Search of a Nation’s Soul describes her return to Russia only to find voices of conscience now silenced by dictatorship. Jamison R Firestone’s Rule of Lies: My Wild Ride Through Chaos, Corruption and Murder in Putin’s Russia reads like a spy novel but is a true account of his time working in Russia.

Price: £16.00

Booking is now open to Hay Festival Membership+ and Circle members. Please sign in to access your account or become a member to book now.

Booking for all other Members opens at 12pm on Wednesday 11 March.

General booking opens at 12pm on Saturday 14 March.