Unveiling the Truth: The Personal and the Political in Russia and Ukraine

Join author and journalist Sasha Vasilyuk in conversation with New York Times journalist Steven Lee Myers on the legacy of secrecy and misinformation in Russia and Ukraine. For Vasilyuk, her upbringing between Russia and Ukraine and an ambiguous family lineage inspired her first novel Your Presence is Mandatory, a riveting story of a Ukrainian Jewish WWII veteran and his family who reckon with his lifelong secrecy against the backdrop of Soviet history. Myers has been covering misinformation and disinformation for The New York Times for over 20 years, including extensive coverage of Russian election interference efforts. Together, Myers and Vasilyuk untangle and explore the personal effects of far reaching political campaigns that put to question what is fact and what is fiction.

About the Speakers

Sasha Vasilyuk is a journalist and author of the debut novel Your Presence Is Mandatory (Bloomsbury) about a Ukrainian Jewish WWII soldier and his family who reckon with his lifelong secrecy. The novel is longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel award and translated into six languages. In Italy, it became an instant bestseller. Sasha grew up between Ukraine and Russia before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 13. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, TIME, Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Bazaar, USA Today, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, The Telegraph, and Narrative. She has won several writing awards, including the Solas Award for Best Travel Writing and the NATJA award.

Steven Lee Myers joined The New York Times in 1989 and has worked in New York, Washington, Moscow (twice), Baghdad, Beijing and Seoul, including four stints as bureau chief. Myers contributed to the Times coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. He is the author of a biography of Russia’s president, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin, published in 2015.

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Institute