About Jonathan
I am a writer and translator based in Norwich, England. Since finishing a degree in Russian in 2007 I have worked and travelled in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe.
For three years as a market analyst in the wine & spirits industry I visited 11 countries – Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey – as part of my work. I have spent every spare moment travelling in these places, from little-known cities to remote wildernesses. I understand the cultures and histories of each of the former Soviet republics.
As a freelance writer and journalist I write about travel and culture in the Eurasia region for Lonely Planet, Bradt Travel Guides and Open Central Asia magazine. In the past I have been a features writer for Ukraine International Airlines’ in-flight ‘Panorama‘ magazine, Russia Beyond the Headlines, The Calvert Journal and IWSR Magazine, among others.
My longform writing has been published in three books: ‘The Expeditioner’s Guide to the World’ (2009 – a story about a train journey with a Chechen family); the 2014 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack (a report of a cricket tournament in Uzbekistan); and in the Bradt Travel Guides anthology ‘Kidding Around’ (2019 – a story about a trip to Bulgaria with my son).
In 2019 two of my photographs, from Almaty and Tashkent, were displayed at the exhibition ‘Daily Lives in Central Asia’ at the BOZAR gallery in Brussels, Belgium, organised by the European Union’s ‘SEnECA’ project. My photography has also been included in the exhibition ‘Artworks of Eurasia’ by the Eurasian Creative Guild, and published in the book ‘Remarkable Cricket Grounds’ (2016).
