Masha Gessen, a prominent Russian-American journalist renowned for her critical biography of Vladimir Putin and as a leading voice in Russia for LGBT rights, will speak on the subject of the Trump presidency and what we can and cannot learn about it from looking at President Putin.

Currently scholar in residence at the Oberlin Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, Gessen is the author of numerous books including The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin; Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot; and Where the Jews Aren't: The Sad and Absure Story of Birobidzhan, Russia's Jewish Autonomous Region.

She is a regular contributor to the New York Times and her work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Newsweek, Slate, and many other publications. She has received numerous awards, most recently the University of Michigan's 2015 Wallenberg Medal.