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Craig Ashton moved from the UK to Russia over 20 years ago. As a student, he chose St Petersburg, a city close to Europe, in case things went wrong in his new country. But Craig’s life changed very quickly in Russia. He fell in love with the city’s rich architecture, learned Russian from scratch and wrote a book in it, made new friends and understood the Russian soul. Fate gave Craig a close acquaintance with director Alexey Balabanov, as well as roles in Russian films and TV series. 00:00 Introduction 00:25 How Craig ended up in Russia 00:54 Why St Petersburg? 01:49 I chose Russia and the Russian language 03:27 Fell in love with St Petersburg 04:23 First impressions of Russia 06:32 Russians accepted me 07:44 Russia has a different way of communicating 09:08 What does Craig do in Russia? 11:25 Sorry, I'm a foreigner 12:31 Roles in Russian films and TV series 13:48 About director Balabanov 15:21 What is missing in Russia? 18:11 What is a Russian person like? 19:47 The main difference between Russians and Europeans 20:57 Plans for the future in Russia