text:  Masha Gessen is the author of numerous books about Russia, including The Future is History, How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Gessen has been convicted in absentia by a Moscow court on charges of spreading false information. Defecting from North Korea is a crime punishable by prison or even execution. But we'll hear about one high-ranking official who did it. That story is just ahead. You're listening to The World.