The personality of Russian President Vladimir Putin has intrigued the world for years. But how much do we actually know about him, and do we know anything at all? Putin goes to great lengths to keep every aspect of his life hidden. However, investigative journalism over the past decade has shed new light on his work habits, lifestyle, and inner circle.

In this seminar, Mikhail Rubin, a JSK Fellow and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Proekt Media, will share findings from these investigations. With experience reporting on Putin as a member of the Kremlin press pool for independent Russian media, Rubin offers a journalist perspective on one of the world's most enigmatic leaders.

Mikhail Rubin is a Russian journalist living in exile. He is deputy editor in chief of Proekt. There he has spearheaded numerous investigations into Russian President Vladimir Putin and corruption of Russian authorities. Rubin’s investigative work earned him six laurels from the Zimin Foundation’s independent Redkollegiya award, which supports free and professional journalism in Russia.  He and colleagues were selected for the 2020 European Press Prize shortlist for their investigation of Yevgeny Prigozhin, at the time a member of Putin’s inner circle. Then in 2021, the Kremlin declared Proekt an “undesirable organization” and Rubin and other staff members “foreign agents,’’ which banned them from working inside their country. Currently Rubin helps lead Proekt’s globally distributed team from Washington, D.C., where he is a fellow at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University.

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