Pskov is the capital of the sparsely populated Pskov Region, one of the 83 territories that make up the Russian Federation. On a map it nestles below St. Petersburg, with its western edge bordering on Estonia, Latvia and Belarus. Once a thriving nexus of trade and cultural exchange, today it is one of the poorest and most sparsely populated parts of the Russian Federation. Howard Amos’s recently published book, Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire (Bloomsbury, 2025) is a lyrical portrait of this forgotten region. It includes a fascinating chapter on the Mikhailovskoye estate, where Pushkin lived in exile from 1824-1826, and the associated Pushkin Hills Museum. Other chapters include one on Father Tikhon, who is widely believed to be ‘Putin’s confessor’; Lev Shlosberg, a rare opposition leader and regime critic still at liberty in Putin's Russia; the real story of the raising of the red flag over the Reichstag in 1945; a brilliant photographer and Instagram star, Dima Markov, who died of a heroin overdose; a doctor at a psychiatric hospital; and Old Believer communities in Eastern Estonia. The book has rightly won plaudits from fellow writers: 'A different level of insight to anything I've read for a long time about Russia.' (Sophy Roberts, author of The Lost Pianos of Siberia); 'Exquisitely observed. Full of empathy, Amos refuses easy stereotypes.' (Tom Parfitt, author of High Caucasus).
In his talk, which will be illustrated with slides and informed by his intense and extensive personal experience, Howard Amos will tell us about Pskov Region and the deep affection he feels for both the region and its people. He will also tell us about the writing of his book, which is based on hundreds of face-to-face interviews and encounters over the course of more than 15 years, and by referring to a cross-section of these he will give us an idea of what everyday life is like for people in the region.
Howard Amos is a writer and journalist, whose articles over the last 15 years or so about various aspects of life in Russia have been published in leading outlets - including the Guardian, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, Associated Press and The New Republic. Howard Amos first went to Pskov in 2007 (when he was a university student) to take part in a month-long summer camp run by a Russian charity at a state orphanage for mentally and physically disabled children. In late 2010, he moved to Moscow, where he worked as a reporter/journalist until 2017 and then again from 2019-2020. Even while living in Moscow, though, he remained involved with charities working at the orphanage and continued to travel regularly to Pskov Region, where cumulatively he has spent about two years. He travelled to Russia regularly until its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He left Russia the following month and, based in Yerevan, did a year-long stint as editor-in-chief of The Moscow Times in exile. He currently lives in Edinburgh.
Booking will close 48 hours before the scheduled date for the event, i.e. by 7.00 pm on Monday, 12th May, so that we can notify KCL in advance of the names of those who have booked to attend in-person. GBRS will disseminate the Microsoft Teams link by email to online attendees on Tuesday, 13th May. It would be helpful if on Wednesday, 14th May you could aim to arrive at the Strand Building between 6.30 pm and (at the latest) 6.45 pm so as to register in good time at reception. KCL will kindly be providing drinks from 6.30 pm on.