We’ve Seen This Before: Lessons from Exile on Recognizing Authoritarianism

Across continents—from Russia to Iran, from Hungary to Venezuela—journalists have learned to read the early signals of autocracy: the slow normalization of censorship, the weaponization of “national security,” and the gradual erosion of the importance of facts. Many journalists who came to the United States to escape repressive regimes are now seeing familiar signs around them.

December 10 will mark the public launch of Kronika, a joint project of PEN America and Bard College that was born from the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA), was built to safeguard journalism and public memory wherever they are at risk. At the center of the program is a conversation with a founder of the project M. Gessen, András Pethő (Direkt36, Hungary), Ramón Zamora (El Periódico/Central America Independent Media Archive, Guatemala), and Sevgi Akarçeşme (Türkiye, in exile in New York)—journalists and thinkers who witnessed the rise of authoritarian regimes firsthand.

Moderated by PEN America’s Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, the conversation will explore the panelists’ experiences as journalists and Kronika as a tool to protect public memory. The event is also a call to connection—inviting journalists in exile and American journalists to work together to track and document the warning signs of autocracy.

Watch the live stream on December 10 at 6 PM

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Time: 6:00 pm

Location: Online Event