Why do the Russian people continue to support Vladimir Putin? How do Russian conscripts prepare to go to war? How do Ukrainian soldiers keep morale high and how do they see the future of their country? How does the Kremlin's propaganda affect everyday life in Russia? Where do Russians feel the impact of Western sanctions most? Valerie Hopkins has covered Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine for the New York Times since its tragic beginning.
Her extensive interviews and incisive analysis exposed New York Times readers to decision making in the halls of power on both sides of the war as well as the everyday life of the communities most affected. Her reporting led her to Ukraine's frontlines, towns destroyed by Russian missiles, the forests of Bucha, the graveyards where mothers mourn the loss of their soldier sons, Russian draft offices as conscripts are taken away for training, and streets of Moscow as the war's presence is increasingly felt on the homefront. In this conversation, Valerie Hopkins will share her knowledge and experience reporting on Russia and Ukraine for the past two years.
Valerie Hopkins is an international correspondent for The New York Times, covering the war in Ukraine, as well as Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Ms. Hopkins began her journalistic career in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a local news outlet reporting on war crimes trials. She covered the Balkans and eastern Europe for a decade, most recently for the Financial Times, before moving to Moscow to join The New York Times. She is a 2022 recipient of Newswomen’s Club of New York’s Marie Colvin Award for Foreign Correspondence and the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) Distinguished Fellow Award. She was also part of a team that won a George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting for coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Ms. Hopkins completed her master’s degree at Columbia Journalism School, where she won a scholarship named for Anne O’Hare McCormick, a New York Times journalist who in 1937 became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence. At Columbia, her investigation into female war criminals won one of the school’s top awards
This hybrid event will be recorded.