Susan Richards

Susan Richards is a founder of openDemocracy. She has produced a number of feature films and written a prize-winning book, 'Epics of Everyday Life', about the lives of ordinary Russians in the transition from communism. 'Lost & Found in Russia', 'Encounters in the Deep Heartland', which covers the period 1992-2008, was published by IB Tauris in May 2009.

Lost and Found in Russia: a visit to Marx

January 1993 Town of Marx False Pregnancy Communist rule had only just ended when I set out on my travels. The overriding goal of President Yeltsin's government was

By Susan Richards

/ 10 Jun 2009

Russians don’t much like the West

Russian attitudes to the West are known to have soured in recent years. But it may surprise Western readers that the majority of Russians now express a positive dislike of

By Susan Richards

/ 25 Feb 2009

Georgias Byzantine politics

Georgians used to enjoy a somewhat privileged position in the old Soviet order. Their sandy beaches and spas, their snow-capped mountains, wines and legendary traditions of hospitality drew tourists to

By Susan Richards

/ 3 Nov 2005

Chechnya and Iraq: imperial echoes, militant warnings

Despite all the differences between the two wars, and the countries prosecuting them, the parallels provide a tool with which to investigate the potential consequences of the American occupation of Iraq

By Susan Richards

/ 23 Jul 2003

The World's Fair

A Flemish Fair, by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568-1625) Every January, for three years now, people from all over the world have been pouring into the southern Brazilian city of

By Susan Richards

/ 5 Feb 2003

More trouble in paradise

The Kenyan coastline is many peoples idea of paradise.It is a landscape of pale, palm-lined beaches, wafting sea breezes, forests full of rare birds and butterflies, a landscape

By Susan Richards

/ 17 Dec 2002

Defending the Palace of Western Culture

The catastrophe at Moscows Palace of Culture invites comparison with that of 9/11 in New York. Both involved the sudden intrusion of an outside force into the heart

By Susan Richards

/ 30 Oct 2002

The discussion

First Speaker: I just wanted to pick up on your point about motherhood. I always find that the people who talk the most about what motherhood is, how it should

By Susan Richards

/ 19 Mar 2002

Responses on the night

Ruth Francis This was not an inclusive discussion it felt like a series of lectures. I believe in forums like this and feel strongly that this CANNOT STOP HERE! This

By Susan Richards

/ 13 Mar 2002

Russia changing

Ten years ago, when I was setting out on my travels, looking for places which were going to prosper in provincial Russia after the fall of communism, a wise Russian

By Susan Richards

/ 12 Dec 2001

Being open to surprise

As US forces (and US cruise missiles fired from British submarines) strike and sometimes miss targets in Afghanistan it is natural to think, ‘here we go again’. Natural, even comforting.

By Anthony Barnett and Susan Richards

/ 8 Oct 2001

History will not stop for Europe

In 2001, a series of profound changes were underway within the European Union. The same was true then as now: Europe needs a new argument.

By Susan Richards and Frank Vibert

/ 17 May 2001