Italian journalist and director of a literary festival on Russian propaganda, the challenges facing democracy, and the power of culture

The translator and researcher on the most impactful stories in Ukrainian literature, the role of cultural diplomacy and the craft of translation

Citizen journalist Vilen Temerianov is a professional welder and has worked in construction. He had not been involved in journalism until 2014 when Russia launched a series of repressive actions in the occupied peninsula. It was then that Temerianov decided to become a citizen journalist to quickly and accurately report on human rights violations in Crimea. He does not particularly enjoy writing, and acquaintances describe him as “a man of few words who takes action.”

In political prisoner cases, Russian security services often invent and fabricate “evidence” to create a realistic narrative. This time, they lucked out with a plot, as the “Sevastopol saboteurs” case involved three friends with shared histories