The LOOK - Presenter

Personal

I was born in Moscow, Russia, several months after the Olympic Games had ended. I

grew up in a budding district in the south of the capital, where I attended school. In

1997 I went straight from there to the Faculty of History at the Moscow State

University. I am currently on academic leave from my PhD there. I also hold an MA in

History from the University of Manchester, UK.

Early work in the media

I have been writing since I was 6. While a pioneer, I was a school wall newspaper correspondent. When the USSR collapsed, so did the Pioneer Organisation at school, but the idea of a wall newspaper subsisted, except that now we edited it in the class. I was normally the editor.

In 1992-93 I and a few of my classmates were taken on as members of a junior editorial board of Murzilka, one of the leading Russian journals for kids. In 1993 they published my fairy tale.

I edited a newspaper of the Student Union of the Moscow State University in 1997-98, and had other publications between 1997 and 2003, including many academic publications. In 2003, I translated from Russian into English for The Herald of Europe (Vestnik Evropy). The final publication, printed in late 2004, includes my translation of the article on Matthew Barney (uncredited).

Literature

I devote much time to creative writing, which is as much a means of self-expression, as it is one of my main occupations. You can read a selection of my poems online at www.stihi.ru (I publish them under a pen name). I cannot say any of the authors that I read influenced me profoundly because I was always keen on developing my own style. But there are certainly those who left their mark, and, truly, Legion is their name. In poetry, it is bound to be Jacques Prevert, Constantine Balmont, Igor Severyanin, Alexander Blok, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Dylan Thomas. In prose, it is Somerset Maugham, Henry Miller, Dylan Thomas, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Mikhail Bulgakov, Mario Vargas Llosa, Friedrich Durrenmatt. And in drama, it will certainly be Moliere, Tennessee Williams, Chekhov, Tom Stoppard, and Patrick Sueskind. I've also started blogging, and have already been interviewed about my Notebooks on BBC Radio Manchester.

Music and Performing Arts

I adore theatre, and I wrote and staged plays at school and at the University, both in verses and in prose, which were always acclaimed. I would usually do a bit of acting in them myself, although these days I prefer singing. I started “with the Beatles”, then moved on to Queen, ABBA and 10CC, then to the French chanson and pop-music (j’aime Michel Polnareff!), not forgetting the Italians (Al Bano and Romina Power, Adriano Celentano) and Germans (Dschinghis Khan ist ueber-ueber-ueber fantastisch, despite all kitsch!). Add to this Cher, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Billy Joel, and many other musicians, plus my innate curiosity, and you'll see that I am almost omnivorous when it comes to music (exceptions apply).

In classical music I most often listen to Chopin, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev. Having

been studying Medieval and Early Modern History for years, I like both medieval and Baroque music, but I normally have to tune in to something else afterwards - like Grieg's Concerto for Piano, in A minor, op. 16, allegro molto moderato!

Cinema

This is a totally absorbing topic. Of my two uncles, one is a well-known Russian film director, Vadim Derbenyov, who brought The Woman In White to the Russian screen, and also directed to the screen the ballet Spartakus; his brother, Joseph, is a scriptwriter. At home we always watched cinema and spoke about it. Upon coming to England in 2003 I became a real Cornerhouse Cinema-addict.

There are many directors whom I love, but I have to single out Luchino Visconti, Federico Fellini, Louis Bunuel, Ingmar Bergman and Roman Polanski, as well as many Surrealist directors (have you seen L’Affaire Est Dans Le Sac, by Pierre and Jacques Prevert?).

My understanding of cinema was dramatically changed one late evening in 1994, when I watched Deux Hommes Dans La Ville, with Alain Delon and Jean Gabin.

Since then I discovered many other films that influenced me profoundly. To name but a few: Three Colours trilogy (especially Three Colours Blue), La Citta Delle Donne, Leopard, Chinatown, The Seventh Seal. I have seen Farinelli Il Castrato several times, an absolutely superb work; and I am thrilled I got to talk to Marc Rothemund, who worked on it as an assistant director. Films by Wong Kar Wai – In The Mood For Love and 2046 – are genuine.

I love Russian cinema, and when I was a child Russian films were surging my interest in Russian and European literature. I would read Maxim Gorky, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jack London, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan-Doyle, Oscar Wilde, etc., etc. after I watched the adaptations of their works. I appreciate films about war, e.g. The Cranes Are Flying, Only Old Men Are Going to Battle, The Dawns Here Are Quiet. But my all-time favourite must be The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, which I guess I have seen no less than 20 times!!! In fact, I'm afraid, 20 is too small a number...

Journalism

I was on placements with the BBC GMR and the BBC's Songs of Praise where I researched for a programme on The Chronicles of Narnia. From summer 2005 till January 2006, I was a volunteer story gatherer on the BBC People’s War project. I also provided bilingual Russian-English and French-English interpretation for the BBC News and Current Affairs several times.

I contributed articles to the Mooch Magazine (CSV), and I took part in many campaigns and events organised by the BBC, including People's War, Make A Difference Day, Who Do You Think You Are?, etc.

I regularly write for exzibit.net and the Review Newsletter, published with AOL Journals. I am also currently a researcher for a private company, based in York.

Most recently, I have been making interviews with medical professionals for promotional bulletins on the BBC Radio Manchester Interaction. The bulletins that I prepared covered arthritis, back pain and sunburn research, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, and have attracted a wide response.

Although this shows my versatility, my heart still lies with the Arts. There are also some book reviews on www.amazon.com that appear sporadically, still reflecting my interests, training, and - in a way - mindset.

Other skills and interests.

Foreign languages: I am fluent in Russian, English and French, I read in German and Italian, and Latin (I specialise in Medieval and Early Modern History).

Research interests: intellectual history, Anglo-Italian relations in the 16th c., fin de siecle, and surrealism.

Travel (Europe and Near East)

Photography (esp. surrealist photography, Man Ray, Lee Miller)

Just about everything in the Arts and Humanities...

Knitting and crocheting: back in 1991, it turned out I was the only (!) girl in the class who hadn't a clue about either. These days, nobody even guesses that knitwear they see is actually handmade - including my own mother recently!