How people live in Russia, what they want, and what they fear is often not even fully understood by Russians themselves. The media report only what the Kremlin and the security services allow them to report.

Galina Timchenko, publisher of the online newspaper Meduza, and Mikhail Zygar, author and former editor-in-chief of the television channel Dozhd, are two of Russia’s most prominent journalists. Branded as »foreign agents,« they now live in the West, yet continue to write and broadcast for audiences in Russia.

In conversation with Cathrin Kahlweit, they offer a rare glimpse behind the façade of Putin’s increasingly fragile grip on power. Daniel Jesch will read from Mikhail Zygar’s latest book The Future That Never Came, published in 2026.

The reading will be in German, with the discussion held in English.

Tickets and more information: Eine Bühne für Osteuropa | Burgtheater

Eine Bühne für Osteuropa – A stage for Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe has been in a permanent state of upheaval – since the fall of communism in 1989, since the eastward expansion, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and not least since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cathrin Kahlweit, expert on Eastern Europe, publicist and long-time SZ correspondent, sheds light on the current situation in Eastern Europe in discussions with prominent guests as part of the series »Eine Bühne für Osteuropa«. This series of talks is a collaborative production of  Burgtheater and ERSTE Foundation. Media partner is DIE PRESSE.

Header picture: Eine Bühne für Osteuropa, Akademietheater © eSeL.at—Robert Puteanu