What do you think the best chance of resolving the conflict is?

"It’s really time. Now with Syria, Ukraine will be forgotten... War doesn’t make any sense. No wars make sense. I hope the sooner people feel ready to speak with each other, the better. But in Ukraine, I think, it will be decades before the president of Ukraine will go to Moscow... People are so hurt, they are so much in pain from all of the destruction and devastation and the annexation of Crimea, they can’t even think when they will be able to negotiate peace."

Have you ever been persecuted or faced repression for the reporting you have done, and what has made you continue this work even in the face of struggle?

"No institutions ever persecuted me. I suffered a few times as a reporter from some nasty, armed people on the road, who caused us trouble. They stopped us, dragged us to some unknown place, took our phones from us, and that was a problem. But that’s what you choose to do when you go to a war zone where nobody is going to protect you. So this is my personal choice.

"When I started, there was a war in Chechnya... It was a terribly scary conflict. There were so many refugees, and hundreds and hundreds killed for years. I kept coming back to the North Caucasus. We still have unrest there, insurgencies. We have a fundamental Islam that is a sort of underground community. And many of them go to Syria today to fight. There are thousands, maybe over 3,000, [of] Russian citizens who are fighting in Syria today. And many of them die from Russian bombs. So it is another open wound, a fresh one, that is important to talk about. Probably this year, I will be thinking about that wound more."

What is your advice for young women who want to do this kind of work?

"I would not distinguish men and women. I think there is no difference, honestly. We are all the same. We — by which I mean, writers — just believe [in] and are devoted to telling a story. To delivering nuance and detail to their readers, to trying to bring the reader to the scene [with] the story, and open the reader's mind, hopefully.

"I must admit, I am impressed by how interested American readers are in international stories. Our stories are very well-read, and we receive feedback. We know people think of other places in the world. But we need to work harder to attract more people to thinking. The next generation could have an even broader view of things and cover global news by building bridges from country to country.

"I tell women and men, ‘Hit the road. Get on the road and travel.’ The only way to find a good story, to tell a good story, is by going places. You cannot sit in New York and write about Russia."