Tristan Redman

As you say, it hasn't quite worked out as many people might have hoped or expected in the 1990s.

Do you remember the moment when you had a sense for the first time that things might change?

I think when Vladimir Putin took over.

You've said that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 was a turning point.

How quickly did things actually change on the ground for you as a working journalist?

Did you feel, though, that that moment might have been the end of the road for you in Russia?

What's the experience like of being out and about actually gathering news?

What are the obstacles that you come up against?

How difficult is it to get the truth of a story out and get to the heart of what people in Russia are actually thinking when there are so many restrictions on how the press operate?

Well, Steve, once a year, famously, you get to ask Vladimir Putin a question at his end of year press conference.

And a few months ago, actually, we spoke just before you were going to the end of 2025 one.

I'm really curious to know what that experience is like.

I mean, how do you judge how to phrase things and how hard to push?

You work, Steve, under incredibly challenging and dangerous conditions in Moscow.

Why do you think you've been able to stay there for so long?

One of the things you said earlier really struck me is that you want to see how the story ends.

I wonder if you could say more about what you mean by that.

Well, Steve, I'm going to give you my own double-headed eagle.

On the one hand, I do not think you look like a defecating squirrel.

But on the other hand, I do respect the imagery of the phrase.