Brett Forrest has been explaining Russia and Ukraine to the world for two decades. He is an award-winning national security reporter for the Wall Street Journal, where his investigative work focuses on the former Soviet Union.

It is a dangerous time to be a reporter in Russia. In March, Russian authorities arrested Forrest’s Wall Street Journal colleague, Evan Gershkovich, on spying charges, which he vehemently denies. Gershkovich is in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo Prison facing a sentence of up to 20 years.



“I never felt like I was in the crosshairs of the state,” said Forrest. The invasion of Ukraine changed all that. “When Russia began enacting new laws about criticizing the war, or even calling it a war in Russia, I began to feel like maybe the state had taken a turn and was now looking at all of us as a target.”

Forrest has a new book, “Lost Son: An American Family Trapped Inside the FBI’s Secret Wars,” in which he investigates the mystery of a young American, Billy Reilly, who vanished into Russia’s war with Ukraine. Forrest cracks an FBI coverup to learn what happened to the unwitting Reilly.

Forrest said that “what happened in Ukraine can also be traced to the fact that Vladimir Putin has simply stayed in power too long. And this is often what happens when leaders stay in power too long. They begin thinking about their place in history.” Forrest said that other world leaders “think squarely about what's best for the people. And I don't think that Vladimir Putin really has that in mind anymore for Russians.”

Forrest said that Putin has staked his leadership on the notion that he can assure domestic peace. Upheaval at home and in Ukraine, he said, “is the price for the illusion of stability that he’s created in Russia over the years.”