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Moscow Calling: Memoirs of a Foreign Correspondent
A personal and revealing perspective of Russia by the acclaimed former BBC and Sunday Times Moscow correspondent, who worked in Russia for over 30 years and who witnessed first-hand the darkest days of communism and the rise of Putin.
In the course of the past forty-five years, Angus Roxburgh has translated Tolstoy, met three successive Russian presidents and been jinxed by a Siberian shaman. He has come under fire in war zones and been arrested by Chechen thugs. He was wooed by the KGB, who then decided he would make a lousy spy and expelled him from the country.
In Moscow Calling Roxburgh presents his Russia - not the Russia of news reports, but a quirky, crazy, exasperating, beautiful, tumultuous world that in forty years has changed completely, and yet not at all. From the dark, fearful days of communism and his adventures as a correspondent as the Soviet Union collapsed into chaos, to his frustrating work as a media consultant in Putin's Kremlin, this is a unique, fascinating and often hilarious insight into a country that today, more than ever, is of global political significance.
In the course of the past forty-five years, Angus Roxburgh has translated Tolstoy, met three successive Russian presidents and been jinxed by a Siberian shaman. He has come under fire in war zones and been arrested by Chechen thugs. He was wooed by the KGB, who then decided he would make a lousy spy and expelled him from the country.
In Moscow Calling Roxburgh presents his Russia - not the Russia of news reports, but a quirky, crazy, exasperating, beautiful, tumultuous world that in forty years has changed completely, and yet not at all. From the dark, fearful days of communism and his adventures as a correspondent as the Soviet Union collapsed into chaos, to his frustrating work as a media consultant in Putin's Kremlin, this is a unique, fascinating and often hilarious insight into a country that today, more than ever, is of global political significance.
365 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
20 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Angus Roxburgh
7 books9 followersAngus Roxburgh (born 1954) is a British journalist, broadcaster, former PR adviser to the Russian government, and singer-songwriter.
Born in 1954 in Scarborough, England, and raised in Scotland, Roxburgh studied Russian and German at the universities of Aberdeen and Zurich. After graduation he taught Russian at Aberdeen University and then worked as a translator for Progress Publishers in Moscow. He wrote a book about the Soviet media, titled Pravda: Inside the Soviet News Machine.
Born in 1954 in Scarborough, England, and raised in Scotland, Roxburgh studied Russian and German at the universities of Aberdeen and Zurich. After graduation he taught Russian at Aberdeen University and then worked as a translator for Progress Publishers in Moscow. He wrote a book about the Soviet media, titled Pravda: Inside the Soviet News Machine.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 17, 2019
This is a very personal and spirited autobiography of journalist and then TV commentator Angus Roxburgh.
He takes us through his early days in the Soviet Union at the time of Brezhnev in the late 1970’s. He was an avid Russophile in Scotland, learnt Russian, and upon arrival in Moscow worked for a Soviet sponsored group that translated documents and books from Cyrillic to English.
Mr. Roxburgh’s goal was to be a journalist and he succeeded with his knowledge of the Russian language and by the changes that started to occur in the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. He successfully found reporter positions in Moscow with various U.K newspapers as events in the Soviet Union were escalating rapidly. Mr. Roxburgh had a tendency to rub his superiors the wrong way making it difficult for the reader at times to determine which news organization he was working for!
Throughout this Mr. Roxburgh provides many insights into working and living on a day-to-day basis in the Soviet Union. He and his spouse make real friends and they gradually adjust and learn how to live in the Soviet Union. Much of this is sprinkled by the wit and observations of Mr. Roxburgh.
Page 28 (my book)
Sadly the quest for Russia’s soul usually took second place to the search for food. This became a major preoccupation, worsened for us by the fact that we lacked certain things that almost all Russians had: firstly, blat, or connections – a network of friends in the right places; secondly, a granny to stand in line for us; and thirdly, basic knowledge of the system – or rather, of how to deal with the fact that there was no system. The Soviet planned economy turned out to be barely controlled chaos, further muddled by everyday corruption and sheer bloody-mindedness.
Page 51
Giving a bribe, if you are not use to it, is a most difficult thing.
These were tumultuous years as the Soviet Union became Russia after the advent of Gorbachev and then Yeltsin. Mr. Roxburgh was there for many of these transformations and upheavals. He was in Chechnya during the first war under Yeltsin.
The corruption takes a very personal note with the many protracted and bizarre encounters that Mr. Roxburgh had with Soviet authorities. He was followed and surveyed on numerous occasions by nefarious KGB and then FSB agents. Sometimes your friends were not just your friends, but had duties to perform for other authorities.
Mr. Roxburgh tells us of the many Russians who have a desire to return to the “good old days” of the Brezhnev era or even of Stalin. We often come away with a view that the Russian people cannot shake their desire for authoritarianism – or in a sense cannot adjust to liberalism.
All these contradictions of the new Russia are exposed in the pages of this book. We get a very intimate view of history with the many steps and mis-steps of how the Soviet Union became Russia.
He takes us through his early days in the Soviet Union at the time of Brezhnev in the late 1970’s. He was an avid Russophile in Scotland, learnt Russian, and upon arrival in Moscow worked for a Soviet sponsored group that translated documents and books from Cyrillic to English.
Mr. Roxburgh’s goal was to be a journalist and he succeeded with his knowledge of the Russian language and by the changes that started to occur in the Soviet Union in the 1980’s. He successfully found reporter positions in Moscow with various U.K newspapers as events in the Soviet Union were escalating rapidly. Mr. Roxburgh had a tendency to rub his superiors the wrong way making it difficult for the reader at times to determine which news organization he was working for!
Throughout this Mr. Roxburgh provides many insights into working and living on a day-to-day basis in the Soviet Union. He and his spouse make real friends and they gradually adjust and learn how to live in the Soviet Union. Much of this is sprinkled by the wit and observations of Mr. Roxburgh.
Page 28 (my book)
Sadly the quest for Russia’s soul usually took second place to the search for food. This became a major preoccupation, worsened for us by the fact that we lacked certain things that almost all Russians had: firstly, blat, or connections – a network of friends in the right places; secondly, a granny to stand in line for us; and thirdly, basic knowledge of the system – or rather, of how to deal with the fact that there was no system. The Soviet planned economy turned out to be barely controlled chaos, further muddled by everyday corruption and sheer bloody-mindedness.
Page 51
Giving a bribe, if you are not use to it, is a most difficult thing.
These were tumultuous years as the Soviet Union became Russia after the advent of Gorbachev and then Yeltsin. Mr. Roxburgh was there for many of these transformations and upheavals. He was in Chechnya during the first war under Yeltsin.
The corruption takes a very personal note with the many protracted and bizarre encounters that Mr. Roxburgh had with Soviet authorities. He was followed and surveyed on numerous occasions by nefarious KGB and then FSB agents. Sometimes your friends were not just your friends, but had duties to perform for other authorities.
Mr. Roxburgh tells us of the many Russians who have a desire to return to the “good old days” of the Brezhnev era or even of Stalin. We often come away with a view that the Russian people cannot shake their desire for authoritarianism – or in a sense cannot adjust to liberalism.
All these contradictions of the new Russia are exposed in the pages of this book. We get a very intimate view of history with the many steps and mis-steps of how the Soviet Union became Russia.
October 12, 2017
One of the best books I've ever read
A superbly well written book. Thorough engaging style of writing and plenty of delightfully humorous, sarcastic and witty little anecdotes. Definitely a book i would wholeheartedly recommend!
A superbly well written book. Thorough engaging style of writing and plenty of delightfully humorous, sarcastic and witty little anecdotes. Definitely a book i would wholeheartedly recommend!
October 16, 2017
Fascinating journalistic memoir
I really enjoyed this book. It's very well written and highly readable. It's a very interesting memoir of a career in journalism and at the same time a chronicle of Russia in the late twentieth century and early twenty first detailing the events leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of Vladimir Putin, all witnessed first hand by the author and told through a series of anecdotes and insights experienced by the author or those known to him. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Russia and or as far as it is possible to understand this vast country.
I really enjoyed this book. It's very well written and highly readable. It's a very interesting memoir of a career in journalism and at the same time a chronicle of Russia in the late twentieth century and early twenty first detailing the events leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of Vladimir Putin, all witnessed first hand by the author and told through a series of anecdotes and insights experienced by the author or those known to him. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Russia and or as far as it is possible to understand this vast country.
July 12, 2020
Rare, flawless book. Fascinating, frightening (at the end), and funny. Really want to read the author’s other books now.
April 8, 2024
Just makes me want to go back.
August 13, 2019
A fascinating personal history of Russia from the 1970s to the near present day. I developed a love and fascination of Russia in the 1980s and 1990s and became a student of Russian and Soviet Studies in the late 1990s. I used to watch Angus Roxburgh’s reports with great fascination and I believe I still have some recordings from some radio programmes as well so I was delighted to come across his memoirs and have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend it to anyone who has any interest in history, politics and art.
December 14, 2017
For someone like me who has always had a fascination with Russia this is the perfect book, written from a British aspect of living in Russia it perfectly describes Russian life, views, political machinations and how it differs from what the rest of the world was allowed to see by the various governments around the world.
July 23, 2019
This is one of those books I didn't want to finish because it was so entertaining.
I'm not sure why but I have a tiny fascination with Russian stories and this was just perfectly written from a Scot's point of view. Funny, engaging, so easy to read. Loved it!
I'm not sure why but I have a tiny fascination with Russian stories and this was just perfectly written from a Scot's point of view. Funny, engaging, so easy to read. Loved it!
December 18, 2018
Elements of this book were fascinating, particularly the soviet era sections. However - as with many memoirs - it often verged on self-indulgent. I read it for the social commentary, not the very individual perspective or to learn about his career development. Worth reading.
Some notes:
On May Day there was a workers parade each year - making the soviet union the only country where people protested in favour of the gov, placards and all.
New year was the biggest celebration - they didn’t do xmas, but did have xmas trees.
One of the things I find most culturally interesting is how the authorities simultaneously manipulate the masses and rely on the masses to be complicit in the manipulation - eg for the 1980 Moscow olympics young people were issued with FAQs like how to respond when westerners asked about the empty shops (‘Russians like to shop early’).
“Achingly soulless’ is how one Moscow suburb is described
The descriptions of Russian processes are hilarious but baffling. When they were leaving Moscow they had to delay twice because it took more than two months to send their books back by post - only 5kg per day and after they’d been signed and stamped at multiple gov ministries that were only open once a week a and blankets - only one per month. This was done to protect national treasures.
The book’s also fascinating from the POV of how a white man gets ahead - his youthful confidence and self assurance that he had a ‘right’ to an editor role - in spite of having no journo background or training.
The upper echelons of Moscow society had access to a range of special features - marked by the prefix ‘spets’. This included food delivery, books, cars and road lanes.
Boris Yeltsin was sacked from the party in 1987 - he stabbed bimself in his office with a blunt set of scissors, giving himself a suspected heart attack. His attempt to modernise the communist party had not gone well...
Foreigners were only allowed to go to some areas in Moscow. But this info wasn’t made public - meaning foreigners could be arrested for being in the wrong place without any way of foreplanning.
It was Gorbachev who convinced the communist party to vote for open elections - the ultimate case of turkeys voting for Christmas.
Lots of Communist chiefs in Soviet Union countries let the pro-democracy rallies happen without intervening. One exception was Georgia - where soviet troop intervention caused 20 deaths and sped up Georgian independence.
1989 was the year many communist countries fell - Poland, Hungary, east Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Boris Yeltsin was cut off from the communist party in the late 80s - but ended up as president of the Russian federation in 1991. The coup that led Gorbachev to be under house arrest also shifted power totally from the communist party to the Russian parliament.
Easy Germany had needed $100bn when communism ended in order to set up the new capitalist society and prevent major hardship. By contrast, Russia only received $1.6bn, and much of this in the form of western consultancies to teach ‘western ways’ rather than the food and supplies that they really needed.
In 1996 Boris Yeltsin went from popularity ratings in the single digits to winning his reelection by giving oligarchs Russia’s resources (oil, Wood, aluminium) who in turn bankrolled his campaign
In 2011 there were protests in Russia because putin and medvedev were swapping jobs again and electoral fraud was caught on CCTV. However, Putin still won in part because the opposition is so fragmented - half a dozen potential leaders who can only agree that Putin should go.
One reason for panic over Scottish independence is that UK control of the North Sea (specifically the GIUK gap - Greenland Iceland uk -) would be ceded to Scotland. This would mean significant loss of prestige and strategic advantage.
Some notes:
On May Day there was a workers parade each year - making the soviet union the only country where people protested in favour of the gov, placards and all.
New year was the biggest celebration - they didn’t do xmas, but did have xmas trees.
One of the things I find most culturally interesting is how the authorities simultaneously manipulate the masses and rely on the masses to be complicit in the manipulation - eg for the 1980 Moscow olympics young people were issued with FAQs like how to respond when westerners asked about the empty shops (‘Russians like to shop early’).
“Achingly soulless’ is how one Moscow suburb is described
The descriptions of Russian processes are hilarious but baffling. When they were leaving Moscow they had to delay twice because it took more than two months to send their books back by post - only 5kg per day and after they’d been signed and stamped at multiple gov ministries that were only open once a week a and blankets - only one per month. This was done to protect national treasures.
The book’s also fascinating from the POV of how a white man gets ahead - his youthful confidence and self assurance that he had a ‘right’ to an editor role - in spite of having no journo background or training.
The upper echelons of Moscow society had access to a range of special features - marked by the prefix ‘spets’. This included food delivery, books, cars and road lanes.
Boris Yeltsin was sacked from the party in 1987 - he stabbed bimself in his office with a blunt set of scissors, giving himself a suspected heart attack. His attempt to modernise the communist party had not gone well...
Foreigners were only allowed to go to some areas in Moscow. But this info wasn’t made public - meaning foreigners could be arrested for being in the wrong place without any way of foreplanning.
It was Gorbachev who convinced the communist party to vote for open elections - the ultimate case of turkeys voting for Christmas.
Lots of Communist chiefs in Soviet Union countries let the pro-democracy rallies happen without intervening. One exception was Georgia - where soviet troop intervention caused 20 deaths and sped up Georgian independence.
1989 was the year many communist countries fell - Poland, Hungary, east Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Boris Yeltsin was cut off from the communist party in the late 80s - but ended up as president of the Russian federation in 1991. The coup that led Gorbachev to be under house arrest also shifted power totally from the communist party to the Russian parliament.
Easy Germany had needed $100bn when communism ended in order to set up the new capitalist society and prevent major hardship. By contrast, Russia only received $1.6bn, and much of this in the form of western consultancies to teach ‘western ways’ rather than the food and supplies that they really needed.
In 1996 Boris Yeltsin went from popularity ratings in the single digits to winning his reelection by giving oligarchs Russia’s resources (oil, Wood, aluminium) who in turn bankrolled his campaign
In 2011 there were protests in Russia because putin and medvedev were swapping jobs again and electoral fraud was caught on CCTV. However, Putin still won in part because the opposition is so fragmented - half a dozen potential leaders who can only agree that Putin should go.
One reason for panic over Scottish independence is that UK control of the North Sea (specifically the GIUK gap - Greenland Iceland uk -) would be ceded to Scotland. This would mean significant loss of prestige and strategic advantage.
November 15, 2017
Great read, Angus Roxburgh discovered a love of Moscow a while before the iron curtain opened up. A world of shortages though with a sense of community, Lada cars are vodka. He spent time in Moscow initially as a translator before returning back the UK. A world of wondering where the KGB had hidden the microphones though on return to the UK his phone was bugged by British intelligence services. Later on he became a journalist working for the BBC during times of great change such as the fall of the Berlin wall. All of a sudden Moscow opened up to the a consumerist world where the disparity between haves and have nots grew. With current accusations of Russian interference in elections he looked back to Yeltsin's election when people were becoming dissatisfied with the failed promises of capitalism and how Yeltsin was aided by the US in winning a rigged election .
An interesting book and a interesting and honest look at a world which is seen to be better since the iron curtain fell but how power remains within the few and disparity of wealth has grown.
Some interesting current changes written about as well such as more hipsters becoming entrepreneurs and growth of the coffee shop and locally sourced economy.
An interesting book and a interesting and honest look at a world which is seen to be better since the iron curtain fell but how power remains within the few and disparity of wealth has grown.
Some interesting current changes written about as well such as more hipsters becoming entrepreneurs and growth of the coffee shop and locally sourced economy.
March 12, 2018
A very readable memoir of late 1970s onwards in the midst of Russian turmoil. Roxburgh is a bit older than me, but I wish he'd been able to publish his notebooks as he wrote them because learning Russian from 1975 onwards, they would have provided all the cultural context I needed - not old enough to visit and surrounded by adults who believed the propaganda, learning an unusual language with such a rich history would have been easier knowing what Roxburgh has now told us. A cracking read packed with humour, facts and analysis of personally lived events. Once you've read it, you're likely to want to buy him a beer to hear more.
February 18, 2022
Wonderful autobiography by Roxburgh on his 45 years studying, living and working in Russia. For such a fast paced read (covering five decades in seven hundred pages is no easy feat), it doesn’t feel rushed. It provides a surprisingly human perspective on significant world events. I particularly enjoyed hearing about 1970s Russia and the small details of Communist life – the difficulties of finding food in the supermarket for example, and then hearing about the steady changes to the capitalist society of now.
This is a thoughtful analysis of not only the changes in politics but also the thoughts and the aspirations of the local people he meets and befriends. Russia has been in the headlines these last few months with the current situation in Ukraine, and this book gave me a better understanding of recent history and the psyche of the diaspora.
This is a thoughtful analysis of not only the changes in politics but also the thoughts and the aspirations of the local people he meets and befriends. Russia has been in the headlines these last few months with the current situation in Ukraine, and this book gave me a better understanding of recent history and the psyche of the diaspora.
January 26, 2021
Britský spravodaj v Rusku, myslela som si, že viem do čoho idem. Nejaké zážitky, Rusko je hrozné, Západ je najlepší, Putin je zlý, nejaké vtipné historky. Nemohla som sa mýliť viac! Pokojne by som vybrané kapitoly dala študentom na dejepise :) Zákulisné info, skutočný život ľudí, byrokracia, KGB, ale aj krásne okamihy, intelektuálne debaty, popis atmosféry... Všetkého tak akurát - zaujme, ale neunudí a navyše vzbudzuje túžbu celý ten mix chutí a bizáru zažiť na vlastnej koži. Perfektné.
October 27, 2023
Russia has a heart and soul
I could relate to this book as I too love Russia, for its history, it’s architecture, it’s czars, it’s literature…. I could go on. Angus Roxburgh has demonstrated his love for all that and more. As well as the political turmoil it has with strong leaders and ineffectual opposition (or just they keep getting shot). A very interesting and enjoyable read.
I could relate to this book as I too love Russia, for its history, it’s architecture, it’s czars, it’s literature…. I could go on. Angus Roxburgh has demonstrated his love for all that and more. As well as the political turmoil it has with strong leaders and ineffectual opposition (or just they keep getting shot). A very interesting and enjoyable read.
January 13, 2022
I can’t believe more people haven’t read and reviewed this book. It’s written very well, and presents his Russian experience in a very accessible and humorous way. It’s also very candid and honest about the things he did right and wrong. It was fantastic to be able to experience his life through this book.
June 2, 2019
Starts off strong, giving the author's first impressions of his arrival in 1970s Moscow. Later gets bogged down in the minutiae of people and places, and the demise of the Soviet Union. A book of parts. Well written though.
October 10, 2020
I think I understand what this guy is trying to say. Russia is like the pudgy, faraway man at the park, but as one gets closer, one realises no, what one thought was pudge is actually icy abs. It’s hard to NOT fall in love with Russia if one gets too close. So that’s why we have missiles and NATO.
February 25, 2019
an eloquently written memoir of a life that you can only live if you were born in the right moment of history.
June 3, 2019
Very enjoyable
January 10, 2022
What a joy to experience Russia through the eyes of someone who loves the country and it’s people. Thank you Angus.
May 31, 2023
Very interesting, though tantalisingly published before the current situation in Ukraine. Well worth a read.
April 6, 2024
Unfortunately, although I found some of the book interesting, I was unable to connect with the author, hence the poor rating.
January 2, 2018
This book offers great insights into key aspects of the Russian psyche and how its people have been affected by its recent politics. I was particularly struck by how little wisdom and empathy has been shown towards it by the Western powers. Roxburgh strove always to see and report the fullest picture possible but found that anything he wrote that was positive about Russia was taken to indicate pro-Russia bias and then often dismissed.
I visited Russia in 2016 on a Political Tours trip for which Roxburgh was the guide. He was very knowledgeable and his new book has rounded out for me much of what he hinted at on the tour. An excellent read and very helpful to a deeper understanding of Russia, its relations with the West - and incidentally the modus operandi of the BBC, for which he was Moscow correspondent 1991-1997 and Europe correspondent 1998-2005.
Another excellent book by Roxburgh is The Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia.
I visited Russia in 2016 on a Political Tours trip for which Roxburgh was the guide. He was very knowledgeable and his new book has rounded out for me much of what he hinted at on the tour. An excellent read and very helpful to a deeper understanding of Russia, its relations with the West - and incidentally the modus operandi of the BBC, for which he was Moscow correspondent 1991-1997 and Europe correspondent 1998-2005.
Another excellent book by Roxburgh is The Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews