Tristan Redman

And in your recent writing and reporting, you've been looking back at your time in Russia and what it means to still be there today.

I'm endlessly fascinated by all things Russia and the...

the experience of being a foreigner in a place like Moscow.

How hard has it been, Steve, watching so many of your journalistic colleagues in other news organisations being forced to leave Moscow in the last few years?

Well, we want to understand, Steve, how things have changed, the experience of being in Moscow over the whole arc of your career there.

So let's start at the very beginning.

Do you remember when you first became interested in Russia?

Yes, I do, actually.

Well, how were you received as a Westerner at this particular moment?

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.