Free Food For Thought

“The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991… they lost their superpower status, they lost their ideology. So there was a big drop in Russian national pride… and I think the idea was if [Vladimir Putin] came in as this strong, tough, masculine leader then Russia itself could come, as they say, 'off its knees' and become a strong, empowered country again.” Bryn and Skip sat down with Valerie Sperling to talk about her initial experiences abroad in Leningrad, the separation of the Russian church and state, and the gendered nature of politics in Russia.