Vladimir Putin is an intriguing figure and last spring, he was one of the two main characters in playwright Peter Morgan's play “Patriots.” This season, a second show by Erika Sheffer called “Vladimir” also features the Russian leader. Presented by Manhattan Theater Club, the show bears his name, but he never appears. Like Voldemort, his name is not mentioned but the characters in the play live in fear of him.

Instead, Sheffer's play focuses on Raya, a journalist for an independent Russian paper. Well-acted by Francesca Faridany, she puts herself in harm's way, driven to tell the stories of ‘real people’. She covers the war in Chechnya and is sympathetic to the rebels and critical of the Russian government. For her efforts, she is reviled, threatened and even poisoned. Her editor, Kostya (Norbert Leo Butz) admires and cares about her, and t warns her to be careful and later urges her to stop.

Some of the play is done as a flashback to the war where we first see her in her apartment, recovering from injuries she sustained.She’s anxious to get back to work and has uncovered another story. This one, closer to home, deals with government corruption. An American businessman in Russia named James Kimball (Jonathan Walker) asserts that someone used his company to claim a tax refund for twenty million rubles. Raya notes that it’s the largest refund in Russian history and is convinced that someone high in the government has taken a cut. She begins to investigate and goads Yevgeny, a young Jewish accountant who works for Kimball to help her. She convinces him (David Rosenberg) that his actions will make Russia a better country for his newborn daughter.

The two of them take enormous risks in contrast to Kostya and Kimball. Although they witness the corruption, they cautiously play it safe. Raya and Yevgeny are those with courage who fight while Kostya who later takes a secure job with state-run television sees the wrongdoing but remains silent.

Director Daniel Sullivan gets excellent performances from his actors, and the production is often engrossing. However, the war plotline muddles the play muddled. While in Chechnya covering the war Raya meets Chovka, a young woman (Erin Darke) who at one point appears in Raya’s apartment dressed as a rebel. It wasn’t clear if she was actually there, and if so, what is the point?

In a clever technique, the Russian characters speak flawlessly when addressing one another but speak more haltingly and heavily accented when speaking to Americans.

In her notes, Sheffer says that she was “partly inspired by Anna Politkovskaya,” the journalist and activist, who was poisoned in 2004 and murdered in 2006. We see Raya poisoned, so we can’t help but anticipate that she will meet the same end.

Towards the end of the play, Raya is on a tour promoting her book about her experiences. Asked why she will return, and she responds.“Who chooses to fight and who stays silent?” she asks.

“Vladimir” is about Putin but, more importantly, it’s about the courage to fight for home and what you believe is right. It requires courage; though we extol it in others, we wonder what we would do in their place.