Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia from Lenin to Putin

by James Rodgers

The story of western correspondents in Russia is the story of Russia's attitude to the west. Russia has at different times been alternately open to western ideas and contacts, cautious and distant or, for much of the twentieth century, all but closed off. From the revolutionary period of the First World War onwards, correspondents in Russia have striven to tell the story of a country known to few outsiders. Their stories have not always been well received by political elites, audiences, and even editors in their own countries-but their accounts have been a huge influence on how the West understands Russia. Not always perfect, at times downright misleading, they have, overall, been immensely valuable.
In Assignment Moscow , former foreign correspondent James Rodgers analyses the news coverage of Russia throughout history, from the coverage of the siege of the Winter Palace and a plot to kill Stalin, to the Chernobyl explosion and the Salisbury poison scandal.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

Published July 23, 2020

About the author

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Other authors writing under this name are:

James Rodgers (1800-1868)

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of the work of western correspondents and journalists in Russia from the Revolution to the Putin era. The highs and lows of reporting from a less than open society, the difficulties and the often very real dangers plus the ever-present problem of censorship. The author himself has been a foreign correspondent in Russia and knows of what he speaks. The book is clearly and accessibly written and offers an overview of Russian history since 1917 alongside chronicling the travails of the men and women tasked with explaining an often mysterious and secretive society to the outside world. An enjoyable, entertaining, informative and insightful read and a must for all Russophiles.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years it was not easy to get into Russia, the language and written script are not readily accessible to most Westerners and, even now, relatively few of us spend a significant time there, getting to know the people. Most in the West find it difficult to fathom out the Russian character, to understand what motivates them, and why strong leadership has appealed to them for so many centuries.  We have tended to rely on the facts that western journalists choose to give us, and their interpretations of those facts. "Assignment Moscow" considers the work of a selection of western journalists who covered Russia during the century from the 1917 revolutions to 2019. The author doesn't spare those journalists who fell for Soviet or Russian propaganda throughout this period and demonstrates that a tightrope has always had to be walked in order to avoid being declared or treated as "persona non grata" for criticism that the authorities perceive to be unfair.  All in all, this book gives a fascinating new take on the history of Russia over the past eventful century. With many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review.

[Casey Millington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assignment Moscow extensively addresses the challenges foreign correspondents have faced/currently face while attempting to cover the news of Russia. Ranging from the fall of Tsarist Russia and the First World War to the Fall of the Soviet Union, rise of Putin, and Russia-Ukraine war, Rodger's has addressed how numerous issues have caused news coverage to be skewed, interfered with and abused by different governments and leaders/institutions of Russia, while also analysing the roles and influences of journalists and news organisations all cross the scope of interest, from historic characters such as Arthur Ransome, Marguerite Harrison and Walter Duranty to numerous newspapers and media organisations that still exist to this day. This accumulates into a really enthralling and informative exploration of the difficulties in reporting from Russia.

[Tomas Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stručná história pokrývania Ruska a ZSSR západnými korešpondentmi. Celkom fajn pre odhodlaných fanúšikov histórie žurnalitiky, inak asi nie.

Obľúbený citát: "The Daily Mail našiel aspoň jednu správu, ktorú neprinieslo (z Moskvy) žiadne iné médium, hoci možno to bolo pre to, že to nebola pravda."