Paneltalk: Russia, Fake News, War and Disinformation

The war against Ukraine is also a war over information, narratives, and truth. Russia has become a central focus in international debates around state propaganda, disinformation, and hybrid forms of influence.

While the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022 has profoundly reshaped Europe’s security landscape, increasing repression within the country has forced many artists, intellectuals, and cultural figures into exile. New realities are emerging between places such as Tbilisi, Paris, Berlin, and Hamburg – shaped by questions of identity, belonging, and the role of culture in times of political upheaval.

Following the reading “Charlottenburg” by Marina Davydova, representatives of Russian civil society and the cultural scene will discuss life in exile, changing identities, the impact of propaganda and disinformation, and the ways in which art and culture can create spaces for dialogue and critical reflection in times of political uncertainty.

Tatyana Felgenhauer
Tatiana Vladimirovna Felgenhauer is a Russian journalist, correspondent and presenter. She was deputy editor-in-chief of the radio station Echo of Moscow, one of Russia’s best-known independent media outlets, which was shut down in 2022. In her journalistic work, Felgenhauer focuses on political developments in Russia, social debates and the role of independent media.

Masha Borzunova
Masha Borzunova is a Russian journalist living in exile in Latvia. In her work, she analyses and examines Russian news programmes, talk shows and state-controlled media formats.She hosts the programme “Masha on Russia” for the European cultural broadcaster ARTE, where she explores political narratives, media strategies and social developments in Russia.

Marina Davydova
Marina Davydova is a festival director, theatre maker, theatre critic and historian. Together with Roman Dolzhansky, she led the international NET Festival in Moscow until 2022. From 2016 to 2022, she was responsible for the theatre programme of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) and curated the theatre programme of the Salzburg Festival in 2024. Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Davydova left Russia in 2022 and has lived in exile since. Her work explores contemporary theatre, social developments and the conditions of artistic freedom.

Åsne Seierstad
Åsne Seierstad, born in Oslo in 1970, has worked as a correspondent and war reporter for various international newspapers. She has received numerous awards for her work as a journalist and author. “Der Buchhändler aus Kabul” (2002) and “Einer von uns” (2016) became international bestsellers, and “Einer von uns” won the Leipzig Book Fair Prize in 2018. Her most recent books are “Land der vielen Wahrheiten. Drei Leben in Afghanistan” (2023) and her new book “Der Krieg ist anderswo – Russland von innen” (2026). This work of reportage asks how Russian society relates to Putin’s rule and the war against Ukraine. It begins with a young Russian who fought with the Wagner Group in Ukraine and flees to Norway in January 2023. Starting from his story, Seierstad travels across Russia, from Siberia to the major cities. She meets fanatics, conformists and dissidents, and paints a portrait of a divided society that enables Putin’s course.

Maya Stravinskaya
Maya Stravinskaya is a Berlin-based journalist and Managing Director of XZ Foundation, a German non-profit organisation supporting independent media, culture and education. She began her career as a cultural correspondent at Kommersant and later became editor-in-chief of Snob.ru. She went on to lead data journalism and infographics teams at RIA Novosti and Rambler, producing award-winning visual journalism. In recent years, she has worked on creating chatbots to counter propaganda and foster communication in divided societies.