Russia Starts Here: Howard Amos in Conversation with Tom Parfitt at Pushkin House

On 5 June, Pushkin House will host a conversation between journalist and author Howard Amos and Tom Parfitt about Amos’s debut book Russia Starts Here: Real Lives in the Ruins of Empire, shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize 2025.

Based on fifteen years of travel and interviews, the book takes readers deep into the Pskov Region on Russia’s western frontier. From Pushkin’s estate to remote villages and military borders, Amos brings forward the stories of those living in the shadows of past empires and modern politics. It’s a nuanced portrait of a region — and a country — at a crossroads.

In dialogue with Tom Parfitt, whose High Caucasus was shortlisted for the same prize in 2024, Amos will reflect on his reporting, the voices he encountered, and what Pskov reveals about today’s Russia.

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