Reporting on Russia – with Pjotr Sauer and Shane Walker

How do journalists report on a country where truth itself has become a political battleground? Shaun Walker and Pjotr Sauer discuss their reporting on Russia, the war in Ukraine, and the growing influence of propaganda and misinformation.

Drawing on years of experience reporting from the region, they examine how authoritarian regimes manipulate information, how journalists navigate censorship and disinformation, and what these developments mean for democratic societies.

About the speakers
Shaun Walker, has reported extensively on Russia and the post-Soviet world, exploring how history and memory are used to shape contemporary politics. He is the author of the non-fiction books Odessa Dreams: The Dark Heart of Ukraine’s Online Marriage Industry (2014) and The Long Hangover: Putin’s New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past (2018). The Illegals: Russia’s Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West (2025) is about the agents who lived apparently normal lives in the west as part of Soviet espionage programmes.

Pjotr Sauer is a prominent Russian affairs correspondent for The Guardian, known for his extensive on-the-ground reporting on Russia and the war in Ukraine. Raised in Moscow, his journalism career has been shaped by deep regional expertise, ultimately making him a sought-after voice on Russian current events.