In US exile, Kremlin watcher sees Russia draw closer
OAKLAND, Calif. — A Russian analyst and journalist scrutinizing her home country from thousands of miles away, Kseniya Kirillova works out of an impersonal Oakland apartment that she deliberately keeps bare of mementos, except for a stuffed teddy bear memorializing another Russian opposition journalist who died doing the same kind of work.
These days, the 32-year-old’s work has drawn closer to her new home, the United States, where she awaits a decision on her application for asylum.
As Congress and a special counsel appointed by the U.S. Justice Department investigate alleged Russian interference in this country’s 2016 presidential race, Russian state tactics such as amplifying “fake news” have moved to the centre of U.S. political discussion.
Kirillova’s work examining alleged Russian actions in other countries helps in understanding such events in the United States, according to several American analysts of Russia who often cite her work.