Valerie Hopkins

I'm Valerie Hopkins.

I cover Russia for The New York Times.

Often I'm the only New York Times reporter in the country.

When I'm talking to Russians, people sometimes ignore me or worse.

It's not always easy approaching Russians as an American.

Sometimes these discussions are uncomfortable, but they're important because Times readers really benefit from hearing what ordinary Russians think.

Very often, it's different from the expectations people might have.

I keep working in Russia because what happens here matters, and our audience deserves to get a broad perspective of the world that they live in.

If you want to make sure we can keep doing this work, subscribe to The New York Times.

I'm Valerie Hopkins.

I cover Russia for The New York Times.

It's pretty difficult to report from Russia.

Often I'm the only New York Times reporter in the country.

I keep working in Russia because what happens here matters, and our audience deserves to get a broad perspective of the world that they live in.

If you want to make sure we can keep doing this work, subscribe to The New York Times.

I'm Valerie Hopkins.

I cover Russia for The New York Times.

It's pretty difficult to report from Russia.

Often I'm the only New York Times reporter in the country.

I keep working in Russia because what happens here matters, and our audience deserves to get a broad perspective of the world that they live in.