‘What the Kremlin hoped for’: Prominent author not given Australian visa

Award-winning journalist and author Masha Gessen has been unable to enter Australia for scheduled events this week, in a delay that is believed to relate to convictions handed down by a Russian court in absentia.

Gessen was due to lead a seminar at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre on August 21 before heading to Sydney to speak at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas on the weekend. But a last-minute decision from the Department of Home Affairs means they are unable to arrive as planned.

An in absentia conviction in a Russian court is believed to have stalled Masha Gessen’s visa process.Credit: Alamy

A Russian court convicted the dual Russian-US citizen in absentia on July 15 of knowingly spreading false information about the country’s military forces. This judgement is believed to have stalled the normally straightforward visa application process, with the Australian government department requesting further documentation on short notice.

Gessen is an outward critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The eight-year prison sentence they received is thought to be related to their coverage of the country’s war with Ukraine.

They recently spoke to this masthead about their conviction, which has brought with it the threat of extradition to Russia from many countries. Gessen called the situation “quite constraining”.

Gessen on the ABC’s Q&A during a visit to Australia in 2018.Credit: ABC

Born in Moscow, the writer moved to the United States as a teenager in 1981. Since then, they have worked as a journalist between the two countries. They are a notable supporter of LGBTQ rights and identify as both trans and non-binary.

Well known for their work on politics and global affairs, Gessen frequently writes about topics such as the Russian-Ukraine war, Donald Trump and Putin. They currently work as an opinion columnist for The New York Times and are a distinguished professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

“The Russian government’s persecution of me has one purpose: to make me feel unfree even though I am living in exile and they can’t currently jail me. What they can try to do is make it hard for me to move around the world,” Gessen said in a statement released this morning.

“I have been to Australia many times. I have a publisher there and many friends and academic collaborators. Being unable to go to Australia disrupts these intellectual connections and damages my work. This is exactly what the Kremlin hoped would happen.”

Event organisers have said that Gessen’s sessions will go ahead with online contingencies in place if they are unable to enter the country. The decision has been criticised by Simon Longstaff, executive director of The Ethics Centre, which is presenting the Sydney festival.

“Apart from the fact that the last-minute nature of these final requests leaves no time to comply, we would argue that there is an important issue of principle at stake ... Perhaps the most perverse aspect of this decision lies in the fact that Masha Gessen’s criticism of Russia directly reflects the formal position of both the Australian and US governments,” he said.

The Department of Home Affairs declined to comment, citing privacy reasons.

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