The Madness of Moscow

I love the cover, it's very attractive. The Madness of Moscow is a cheeky, amusing, and enlightening look at a British journalist's sojourn into living for a while in Moscow. Johnston never reveals any dates for the time period he resided in Russia. He entertains readers with the foibles of Russian life and dating Russian women. The two hilarious, albeit rather gross, stories involve he Russian "plumbers", and the aftermath of the author's hernia surgery. Do not say must to reading this entertaining tale.

That full Churchill quote "I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest." is as prescient now as when delivered in a radio broadcast in October 1939, To gain an increase understanding of the possible Russian mindset I turned to Cary Johnston's story of his life in Moscow where he worked for the state funded Russia Today TV station (RT) widely perceived as a propaganda vehicle for the Russian government. Firstly if you are looking for an expose into its workings and manipulative nature then you will be disappointed for there is in reality very little space devoted to events at the television station. Indeed Cary Johnston is somewhat protective of it disingenuously liking it to the BBC. What you will get from the book will be an insight of what it is like being a foreigner living in Moscow.

After leaving Spain where his career was somewhat stalling Cary applied for a job at RT and after telling a (rather unfunny joke) he finds himself hired and on the plane to Moscow. Also it must be said the lure of finding a Russian Bride is also a significant factor in his choice of work venue and the pursuit of women (both successfully and unsuccessfully) is a constant theme throughout the book possibly too much for my liking as I would have liked to learn more of Russian culture rather than the goings on in endless nightclubs and bars. A visit to the world famous Bolshoi Ballet is dismissed in rather disparaging terms. This theme of cultural blindness is continued with less than raving reviews of Kiev (comparing it to Moscow he writes ' a prettier city with a less macho atmosphere, but that was about it.' and St Petersburg which again fails to impress. A Patrick Leigh Fermor he is not.

Of course Moscow is not Russia and a greater understanding of what the "real Russia" might be is encountered when he leaves Moscow for outlying areas. There are though a few insightful comments and if you are intending to move to Moscow this book will undoubtedly help when dealing with Taxi drivers and buying a train ticket. This book is more of a comical Bill Bryson type travelogue than political commentary but it made me laugh and was nevertheless an enjoyable read. It just was not what I expected.

The author, a 40-something British journalist, takes a job in Moscow with Russia Today TV. That alone sounded interesting, but throw in his interest in the whole "Russian bride" phenomena, and it really appealed to me!
Johnston discovers that life can be strange as a black man in Russia. He finds racism, as well as "a strata of young Russian adult males who were deeply nationalist, bordering on fascist'. He also found growing tensions between the nationalists and young migrant workers from Central Asia and the Caucuses. I found his observation that "in times of economic crisis, it's the migrants who get the blame for everything when things go wrong, especially when it comes to unemployment", to be spot on for those of us in the United States also. (Dare I say that our current president has taken this Russian tactic and applied it to his own political strategy? But, there was no collusion, of course!).
The author writes about how the Russians feel about "the West". He found that Russians are concerned "about saving face. They do not, above anything else, want to appear weak-from an apartment landlord, right up to the President. Weakness is not an option, and haggling is seen as a sign of weakness". He describes talks with Russians about how they felt about Boris Yeltsin, and how, "when he was in charge, there was complete chaos in the streets", "there were gangs, shootings, mafia, and complete lawlessness and fear on the ground". He describes, despite all his faults, "Putin's rise to power brought the one thing which Russians revere above all else-stability". One young lady explains that she craves "all the good things from the West as well, it's just that the spectre of instability haunts the Russian psyche like nothing else".
Part of the book I really enjoyed was reading about the author's experiences with dating in Russia. Some of them were hilarious! I liked his observation that "any preconceived cliches I had garnered over the years about Russian women, were turning out to be basically true - many did seem pretty much hooked on the idea of getting married to Western guys, and real quick. This was strangely disappointing, but the truth is the truth, and there you have it".
The ending of the book explains how the author see the Russians. It's a very thoughtful section, and the author wraps it up very well. I won't give the ending away, but I will say it's worth your time to read it.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for a fair review. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it, and learned a great deal from it. Give it a try!

A very readable and relatable book about living in Russia as a foreigner. While the book wasn’t super political, it seemed timely. I thought the bits about dating were a little awkward but cute.