Jonathan Dimbleby travels through Russia for new BBC2 series
Thomas Stapleton May 14th, 2008
I greatly enjoyed tuning into the first episode of a new five part series on Russia, presented by Jonathan Dimbleby, in which the journalist and broadcaster will be travelling the length and breath of the country to, he says, get to know Russia through the eyes of ‘ordinary people’, away from all the politics.
I always think it’s a difficult to write about Russia without lapsing into lazy clichés. While there were elements of this, the personal stories that Jonathan Dimbleby uncovered added an extra poignency and depth to the comments about the vastness of Russia, and the suffering of it’s people.
I was particularly touched by the choir of baboushkas (grandmothers), all of whom had been widowed by drink, war or tobacco - or a combination of all three. He also visited some more out-of-the-way places - the Arctic port of Murmansk, the lakes and forests of Karelia, as well as the two main cities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
In future episodes he’ll be working his way further east - there’s also a BBC book due out to accompany the series. Jonathan will be appearing to sign copies of his new book in Bristol on Mon 19th May and at the Royal Geographical Society in London on Wed 2nd July. More details here.
Watch Jonathan Dimbleby talk about his new book below.
Incidentally, David Niblock, the cameraman for the series, has a selection of wonderful photos taken during production of the series on his website.
- North & Central Asia
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