I’m Tom Masters, a freelance journalist and travel writer specialising in the former communist world, especially Russia and the countries that once made up the Soviet Union. 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 articles to dozens of media outlets, worked as a documentary producer for the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery, and the History Channel, and have been a news editor for Deutsche Presse-Agentur 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.