Pyotr Patrushev

Pyotr Patrushev worked for the BBC in London and as a science writer in Munich and San Francisco. He published articles in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian and worked for Australian radio and television.

Pyotr Patrushev publications website: www.pyotr-patrushev.com/

"The life of Russian translator and interpreter Pyotr Patrushev is the stuff adventure stories are made of.

50 years ago Pyotr Patrushev went AWOL from the Soviet Army. He slipped away to the Black Sea coast and then swam out of the Soviet Union and into Turkey.

But he was still a long way from freedom. Suspected of being a Russian spy, they threw him into solitary confinement for a year and interrogated him night and day.

When eventually he was freed Pyotr came to Australia as a refugee, and is now a high-level translator and interpreter. He works for Australian prime ministers when they meet with leaders like Vladimir Putin or Mikail Gorbachov, and also interprets for CNN, ABC and the BBC." ABC Radio, see link http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/03/11/2843061.htm