Sasha de Vogel

On today’s Backstory, we’ll look at the Nashi youth movement in Russia, which was started in 2005 and has close ties to the Kremlin. With thousands of members, the group rallies in favor of the government and harass the political opposition. Director Lise Birk Pedersen talks about her documentary “Putin’s Kiss,” which follows a young Nashi leader as she gradually becomes disenchanted by the movement—and the opposition journalists who risk their safety to criticize the Nashi. She's joined by Sasha de Vogel, program coordinator at Columbia’s Committee on Global Thought.