‘He protected us’: Remembering Yassen Zassoursky, the journalism scholar who midwifed Russia’s post-Soviet free press

Yassen Zassoursky helped shape generations of Russian journalists. Earlier this month, he died at the age of 91. Before becoming the president of the journalism department at Moscow State University (MSU), Zassoursky served as dean from 1965 to 2007. Students who graduated during his tenure now occupy positions across Russia's political spectrum, from liberal intellectuals like Sergey Parkhomenko and Dmitry Bykov to United Russia State Duma deputies like Pyotr Tolstoy and Alexander Khinstein. Andrei Richter was a long-time professor at MSU's School of Journalism who now serves as an adviser at the OSCE Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media and as a professor researcher at Comenius University in Bratislava. At Meduza's request, he shares his thoughts about Yassen Zassoursky's life and legacy. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/08/11/he-protected-us