Lucian Kim
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  • The Legacy of a True Russian Patriot

    Even though Alexei Navalny’s death was foretold so often, it is hard to grasp the magnitude of this loss for Russia.
  • Why Isn’t Russia a Democracy?

    Russia was not preordained to despotism nor to a clash with the West. So how did things go so wrong?
  • Being Cool Has Ruined Berlin

    The Berlin I once knew was not the kind of place you raved about. There was no fine dining but plenty of heavy drinking. The beautiful people ran London and Munich and Milan. In Berlin, the punks were in charge.

  • Massacre at Ilovaisk

    “When we passed their second checkpoint, they started shooting at us like in a shooting gallery,” Yuriy Bereza recalled. “It was an ambush.”

  • New Afghan Generation at War

    “When we were fighting the Russians, it was to the Americans’ advantage to help us,” says Commander Masood. “But when the Soviets were destroyed, they forgot about us.”

Putin’s War on Young People

If Russia is ever to become a country that seeks peace with its neighbors and respects the rights of its own citizens, then such a future depends on Russia’s young people.

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About Lucian

Based in Berlin and Moscow, I reported from the former Soviet empire for 25 years for NPR, Reuters, Slate, Bloomberg, and others. My first book, Putin’s Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine, is now available from Columbia University Press.

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© Lucian Kim, 2011-2025. All Rights Reserved.