The Motherland author talks about reclaiming Russia’s women, the “demented family heirlooms” of Soviet trauma, and the country’s relationship with its chief decision-maker.

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-julia-ioffe-weekend-interview/

Posted by bloomberg

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  1. *Editor-at-Large Mishal Husain for Bloomberg News*

    Telling the story of a country through its women is an epic undertaking — especially when the country’s history includes totalitarianism, extreme violence and repression.

    It’s a task taken on by the Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe in her new book *Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy* (Harper Collins, October 2025). From Alexandra Kollontai — who laid the foundations of gender equality in the Soviet Union — to legions of women persecuted and abused over generations, Ioffe’s book weaves between notable figures airbrushed from Russian history and individuals who wouldn’t have thought themselves remarkable, including her own female relatives.

    *Motherland* also comes right up to the present day. Having spent more than a decade reporting from, and on, Russia for publications including the *New Yorker* and *Foreign Policy*, Ioffe says she has repeatedly been asked to explain the actions and motivations of Vladimir Putin. Motherland embodies her desire to show that Russia is much more than one person, let alone one man.

    To me, the book feels born of both love and despair for the country where Ioffe was born. Love, because it is a part of her through family members shaped by its tumult; despair, because she sees Russia as trapped in a cycle of authoritarianism and thaw, never a full spring.

    [Read the full interview here.](https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-julia-ioffe-weekend-interview/?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc2MjUxNTIwMiwiZXhwIjoxNzYzMTIwMDAyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUNUNFODZHUTFZUkQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJEMzU0MUJFQjhBQUY0QkUwQkFBOUQzNkI3QjlCRjI4OCJ9.e1bLFGXds_6dngQQjWqz94OWpIHFFuZyE-pFVJpeFOA) You can also [listen to this interview](https://omny.fm/shows/the-mishal-husain-show/julia-ioffe-wants-you-to-know-russia-is-bigger-than-putin) and follow The Mishal Husain Show on [iHeart Podcasts](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-mishal-husain-show-300204707/), [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mishal-husain-show/id1845840408), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/4cJNIDbIEyNyaS7EWVh5Hh) or wherever you get your podcasts.

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