Nov 185 min read
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War in Ukraine didn't start in 2022. It can be traced back to the ouster of Ukrainian President Yanukovych in February 2014. The Russians labelled it a coup, realists would say it was unconstitutional, and British officials would shrug their shoulders.
From seeing Putin in Northern Ireland in 2013, to working at the British Embassy in Moscow from 2014-2019, then authorising sanctions against Russia in 2022, Ian had a ringside seat to the failure in British diplomacy that led to war in Ukraine.
A Misfit in Moscow offers a unique insider's perspecive into the slow-motion car crash of UK-Russia relations that led to eventual war in Ukraine.
"What an amazing insight into British Diplomacy and life of a diplomatic service member who Rose up through the ranks, served during some traumatic events (Tsunami in Thailand) etc. Explains current geopolitical group think. Ian Proud can hold his head up high and be proud of his first novel. Read in two days! I couldn't put book down!!" Reader review - Amazon
Ian Proud was a member of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service from 1999 to 2023. He served at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to February 2019, witnessing the collapse in UK-Russia relations that preceded the outbreak of war in Ukraine. As the person who authorised around half of all UK sanctions against Russia, Ian considers sanctions to have backfired, and that the west needs to overhaul its policy towards Russia. Ian speaks Thai and Russian well, and a smattering of other languages. He has recently published his memoir of ten years' diplomatic service in Russa -
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