i you know i was i was i was so drawn to that that i just wanted to stay and keep writing that story and for most of the ninety's i did for most of the ninety's i felt that every story route was a new story no one had written before i mean that's that's an amazing thing for a journalist experience. then after a tumultuous decade president yeltsin presented ex k.g.b. officer vladimir putin as the country's new prime minister he vowed to return russia to its former greatness critics were silenced in two thousand and eleven when thousands protested against an allegedly rigged parliamentary election musher gessen was out on the front lines and had to leave russia as a result i think it was my participation in the protests. and my being very out as a queer person i had been publicly out for many many years. and it had never been a problem until the kremlin launched its anti-gay campaign in two thousand and twelve. and then it suddenly became a problem and the reason i had to leave was because my family was directly