Loving Mother Russia

I've had a fascination with all things Russia since studying the Russian revolution for A-Level history at school. However, regardless of what goes on behind the scenes in politics, last week further accentuates that Western media often portrays Russia as a scary, cold, crazy place that you wouldn't wish to visit.

I have always tried to look past that, and find out for myself. 

For me, there has always been a certain mystique about the country. Her vast landscape, spanning across 2 continents, as well as her deep and powerful history, had always made it a place that I was determined to visit. And I was actually lucky enough to visit St. Petersberg in 2018.

Wow, what a place....

A cosmopolitan city with breathtaking architecture as well as an array of cafes, bars and restaurants that would rank highly in any European cities. 

Overall a weekend I won't forget and I will definitely be returning to Russia sometime in the near future. 

The reason for my visit was having become friends with Andrey Yurchenko, a fellow events professional whom I met 3 years ago at a conference in Madrid. 

Andrey Yurchenko, who features on this episode of my Podcast, "Opportunity in Isolation" was born in Estonia to a Russian family. He Began travelling from an early age and it was this which led him to get the travel bug

He started his career working in the luxury tourism industry for a few years before starting his own company called PriorityStatus.

 His clients range from corporate organisations to extremely wealthy individuals and his event portfolio includes:

– Incoming events in Russia, her territories and the Baltics.

– Sports event hospitality including the Sochi Olympics through to the FIFA World. 

– Corporate vents and individuals travelling around the globe from New Year's cruise to Antarctica and unforgettable birthday yacht experiences 

We talked about a number of topics in this podcast including

• The current situation with Covid in Russia 
• Some of the amazing sites to see in Russia
• Working in events during the 2018 World Cup in Russia and some of the challenges that posed
• The sometimes strange perception from the outside world to what life in Russia is really like
• And some extraordinary requests that some of his high-end clients have asked of him

 As always that you Enjoy the watch/listen! Spotify, Apple, YouTube