Chechnya: 30 Years Since The Start of Modern Russia’s Wars
The centre of Grozny, Chechnya, Russian Federation, spring 1995 © James Rodgers Thirty years ago this week, the Russian army began its assault on Grozny at the start of the Chechen War. In a world currently suffering several wars, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, it is not surprising this...
Football, Free movement: the future? A Bratislava Away Day
Tehelné Pole, Bratislava, Slovakia before the start of Slovan Bratislava vs Manchester City, 1 October 2024 This post is overdue. I am finishing my next book–on Russia and the West–ahead of publication next year so I have had less time than usual for this site, and other journalism. But...
My article in this week’s New European ‘Denmark’s Sounds of War’
An abandoned Second World War fortification, Fanø, Denmark © James Rodgers For this week’s New European, I wrote about a concert where the music brought echoes of Europe’s war-torn past. There’s an extract here, and you can read the full article here. FANØ, A TINY ISLAND off Denmark’s west...
A Rare Perspective On Orwell’s Era, and Our Own
BOOK REVIEW: GEORGE ORWELL AND RUSSIA BY MASHA KARP Red Square showing part of the Moscow Kremlin, March 2019 © James Rodgers This post is a review of Masha Karp’s George Orwell and Russia (Bloomsbury). The review is published in the current issue (25:10) of the academic journal ‘Journalism’,...
The Oakland Coliseum: Back to the Ballpark to say Goodbye
A stand at The Coliseum, Oakland, California, 4 July 2024, before Athletics vs Angels This is a rare post about sport, and about a sport, baseball, to which I am a newcomer. I do not pretend to any expertise, and apologize to any fans who find errors. This is...
Reporting on The Putsch to Save Soviet Power: Moscow, August 19, 1991
To mark the anniversary of the attempted coup in Moscow on August 19, 1991, I am sharing an extract from Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia from Lenin to Putin that covers those days that decided the fate of the dying Soviet Union. DECLARING THAT GORBACHEV had resigned for health...
Alexander Werth Reporting from Stalingrad in World War II–Conclusion
This is the second and final part of my article on Alexander Werth’s reporting from the Soviet Union during World War II. You can read the first part here, and the whole article on the website of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television where it was first...
New: Alexander Werth Reporting from Stalingrad in World War II
This new post is the first part of a long academic article I wrote for the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television about the reporting of Alexander Werth from the Soviet Union for the BBC during World War II. Werth’s despatches, broadcast mostly under the title ‘Russian Commentary’,...
Gershkovich Trial is a Dangerous New Development for Journalism in Russia
This week my colleague Dina Fainberg and I wrote for The Conversation about the case of the U.S. correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, who is on trial in Russia on spying charges. This is an extract from the article. You can read the full version, where we place the case in...
Special Derby Book Festival Event, with Clive Myrie
ON JULY 29th I will be in conversation with my former BBC colleague Clive Myrie at the Derby Theatre, a special event organized by the Derby book festival. We will be discussing his book Everything is Everything, and my own work in, and writing on, Russia–including Assignment Moscow: Reporting...