Elena Kostyuchenko

Born in Yaroslavl, Kostyuchenko is a well-known Russian journalist and activist for the defence of human rights and rights of the LGTBIQ+ community, and also in the fight against corruption, authoritarianism, and armed conflicts. She was a pioneer in covering the Pussy Riot movement, and in demonstrating the presence of Russian troops in East Ukraine. When she was only fourteen years old, she began her career as a journalist, and in 2005 started as a cadet in Nóvaia Gazeta where she worked for seventeen years. In March 2022, she crossed Ukraine to cover atrocities committed in the name of Russia. In reprisal for her reports on the crimes of the army, the state shut down Nóvaia Gazeta and, because of her work and commitment to the truth, she was detained and assaulted on several occasions, and there was also an attempt to poison her in exile. Her book, I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country (original title, Моя любимая страна, Meduza, 2023), now translated into Catalan as El meu país estimat (La Segona Perifèria, 2025) was named a best book of the year by Time, and The New Yorker, and was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. It was also awarded the prestigious Pushkin House Book Prize. Moreover, she is author of two books published in Russian Условно ненужные (Common place, 2014 – in English "Unwanted on Probation") and Нам здесь жить (ACT, 2015, – in English "We Have to Live Here"). Kostyuchenko has received the European Press Prize, the Gerd Bucerius Award-Free Press, and the Paul Klebnikov Fund Award.