Given her enthusiasm for all things English, it is not surprising that it was Catherine the Great who introduced Horse Racing in the English Style to Russia in the 1780’s, and it was only a matter of time before the sport became a vehicle for diplomatic exchange. On at least two occasions in the 19th […]
Berlin, demonstration after the murder of Alexey Navalny. 18th February 2024. Photograph: A Savin, Wikipedia Following the murder of the opposition leader, Alexey NavaIny, the Russian security services have, until yesterday, been attempting not only to retain control of his body but also to dictate the nature of his funeral. Such evidence of official paranoia […]
Russian abduction of children in a time of war is nothing new! One of the more disturbing features of the current war in Ukraine has been Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, ostensibly in order to give them ‘better lives’ in Russia. In some cases the children have been sent to so called ‘Summer Camps’ from […]
At least one scene in my novel, Small Acts of Kindness, a tale of the first Russian revolution, takes place in the offices of the Russian American Company. One of the principle characters, the radical Kondraty Ryleev, was office manager at the company in the months before the Decembrist uprising in 1825. The large building, […]