{"product_id":"farewell-to-russia-event-with-joe-luc-barnes-wednesday-3rd-june-2026","title":"Farewell to Russia Event with Joe Luc Barnes - Wednesday 3rd June 2026","description":"\u003cp\u003eJoin us in the bookshop to hear Joe Luc Barnes in conversation with Howard Amos about \u003cem\u003eFarewell to\u003c\/em\u003e Russia and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/goldenharebooks.pro\/products\/9781472991348?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=65835271e\u0026amp;_ss=r\" title=\"Russia Starts Here\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eRussia Starts Here\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e6.30pm on Wednesday 3rd June at Golden Hare Books, 68 St Stephen Street, EH3 5AQ.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBuy a copy of \u003ci\u003eFarewell to Russia \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003eand receive free entry to the event, or choose our Ticket-Only option for £6 (which can be used towards a purchase of the book at the event).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe will send an email to confirm your booking - please be sure to check your junk\/spam folder!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout \u003ci\u003eFarewell to Russia\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eThey might have said goodbye to the USSR – but can they ever say farewell to Russia? Snow, concrete, the KGB: that’s the cliché of the Soviet Union. But its collapse in 1991 sparked a story at once messier and more compelling than any stereotype. Thirty-five years on, Moscow may brim with champagne bars and blacked-out Mercedes – but what became of the other fourteen states that emerged from the ashes? In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joe Luc Barnes crossed the former USSR to find out, from the gleaming towers of Azerbaijan to the former gulags of Kazakhstan, tech-hungry Estonia to the minarets of Uzbekistan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlong the way, he finds epic mountains, cobblestoned old towns and storied Silk Road cities – not to mention Georgian wine, Armenian brandy and vodka in industrial supply. Travelling thousands of miles, he gathers a chorus of voices: nomads in mountain yurts, TikTok-fuelled activists, small-town taxi drivers and many who still look uneasily over their shoulder for the secret police. With insight, empathy and a healthy dose of mordant wit, he asks what has happened – and why – to the people and their hopes and dreams since the great promise of independence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy turns hilarious, angry and heart-stopping, this is a darkly comic, deeply human portrait of a region the West still misunderstands – and a warning of what happens when empires break but the habits of empire refuse to die.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Joe Luc Barnes \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJoe Luc Barnes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e spent six years living in former Soviet countries from 2014, has a Master’s degree in Russian and East European Studies from Oxford University and now reports from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #000000;\"\u003ethe region\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e as a journalist. His work has been published in outlets including the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e,\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe I Paper\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNikkei,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Diplomat\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTimes of Central Asia\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, where he is also an editor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. He is the author of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eFarewell to Russia – A Journey Through\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Former USSR\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (published by Elliott and Thompson, March 2026), which describes the visits he has made since February 2022 to all 15 former USSR republics. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout Howard Amos\u003c\/strong\u003e Howard Amos is a Russia-focused freelance writer and journalist who has been published by outlets including \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eForeign Policy\u003c\/i\u003e, The \u003ci\u003eTLS\u003c\/i\u003e, and The Associated Press. Raised in London, he spent a year in Russia’s Pskov Region before going on to work for almost a decade as a correspondent in Moscow.\u003ci\u003e Russia Starts Here,\u003c\/i\u003e his first book, was published by Bloomsbury in 2025, and has been shortlisted for the Pushkin House Book Prize, Scotland’s National Book Awards, and the Sherborne Travel Writing Prize. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elliott \u0026 Thompson","offers":[{"title":"Book \u0026 Ticket","offer_id":57073222844789,"sku":"9781783969401-2","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0289\/5334\/6096\/files\/JoeLucBarnes.png?v=1776262249","url":"https:\/\/goldenharebooks.pro\/products\/farewell-to-russia-event-with-joe-luc-barnes-wednesday-3rd-june-2026","provider":"Golden Hare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}