Advertisement

New Poems

NYR Online

Upcoming Events

On Martin Luther King Jr.

Circling the Drain

Advertisement

Thoughtfully chosen gifts for readers and writers

Shop Now

Free from the Archives

Masha Gessen: Autocracy—Rules for Survival

“Rule #1: Believe the autocrat. He means what he says. Whenever you find yourself thinking, or hear others claiming, that he is exaggerating, that is our innate tendency to reach for a rationalization….
Trump has made his plans clear, and he has made a compact with his voters to carry them out. These plans include not only dismantling legislation such as Obamacare but also doing away with judicial restraint—and, yes, punishing opponents.”

Inaugurating a President
All About Balzac
Black and White and Read All Over
On Flora
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
Our Warming World
Israel and Gaza
Brief Encounters

Subscribe and save 50%!

Read the latest issue as soon as it’s available, and browse our rich archives. You'll have immediate subscriber-only access to over 1,200 issues and 25,000 articles published since 1963.

Subscribe now
New York Review in various formats

Subscribe and save 50%!

Get immediate access to the current issue and over 25,000 articles from the archives, plus the NYR App.

Already a subscriber? Sign in