I’m Tom Masters, a freelance journalist and travel writer specialising in the former communist world, especially Russia and the Post Soviet Space. I’m from London originally but have been based in Berlin for over a decade, where I currently edit the international edition of Novaya Gazeta Europe and write UNDESIRABLE, a free weekly newsletter in which I share my personal takes on recent events in Russia.

I’ve written dozens of books for Lonely Planet, contributed to a wide range of international media outlets, worked as a documentary producer for the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, and the History Channel, and have also been a news editor for German news agency dpa and The Moscow Times. Please feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss commissioning work, using my photos, or anything else.