I was born in Nottingham, England in 1955 and lived the first 26 years of my life in Nottinghamshire, the county of Robin Hood and D.H.Lawrence. After leaving school in 1974, I worked for four years in insurance underwriting and then for three years as a computer programmer, two ill-advised career choices.

In 1983, I decided to improve my education and began a three-year social sciences degree course: Modern European Studies, including Russian language. This turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I had become convinced of the importance of trying to understand the Soviet Union and its people, rather than assuming that there could be no point of contact – as it seemed most Westerners did. Obviously, the best way to communicate is through language, and the course gave me the chance to visit the Soviet Union for two months in 1985. This was soon after Gorbachëv had been elected, and it was an exciting time, with the country showing signs of real change. After graduating, I studied for two years part-time for an MA covering Soviet history and politics.

I met my wife, Rosanna, at a Russian evening class in 1985 (I felt I needed extra tuition because the language component of my degree course did not seem adequate). Evening classes are the classic way of meeting people, but nobody ever does. We are the exceptions that prove the rule. We now have two children and live in rural Northamptonshire.