She started her career in the gay and lesbian press in the United States in the 1980s, then returned to Russia as a correspondent, and stayed for twenty years before the antigay campaign forced her to leave. She is the author of seven books of nonfiction, most recently "The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy," as well as the international bestseller "The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin." In 2013 she co-edited "Gay Propaganda: Russian Love Stories," a bilingual collection of personal narratives. Gessen is a current Carnegie Millennial fellow. She lives in New York City.