Charles Hecker
@charleshecker.bsky.social
Author, Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, from @hurstpublishers (UK) and Oxford University Press (US). Russia geek. Lots of priors. https://amzn.eu/d/akcwgL6 & https://a.co/d/godZKis
Thank you to the @kennaninstitute.bsky.social for the terrific conversation, and congratulations on a successful re-launch.
🔴 In this moment from The Long View, @charleshecker.bsky.social reflects on how Western businesses may return to Russia while keeping their distance.
🎥YouTube
youtu.be/KlrU8R6pxoM?...
🎙️Spotify
open.spotify.com/episode/3JgZ...
🎥YouTube
youtu.be/KlrU8R6pxoM?...
🎙️Spotify
open.spotify.com/episode/3JgZ...
November 20, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Thank you to the @kennaninstitute.bsky.social for the terrific conversation, and congratulations on a successful re-launch.
Reposted by Charles Hecker
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @charleshecker.bsky.social and Carole Walker on the US-Russia "peace plan" for Ukraine, and the day's other stuff, plus @pburtsoff.bsky.social reports from Hanaholmen. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Zelensky’s meeting with top US army delegation in Kyiv - Monocle
Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet with a US army delegation in Kyiv after American and Russian officials draft a plan...
monocle.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @charleshecker.bsky.social and Carole Walker on the US-Russia "peace plan" for Ukraine, and the day's other stuff, plus @pburtsoff.bsky.social reports from Hanaholmen. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
📖🎉 Big book news! Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, is an Editors' Choice in the @nytimes.com this week. Zero Sum is out the US w/ @oxunipress.bsky.social. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
6 New Books We Recommend This Week www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/b...
6 New Books We Recommend This Week www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/b...
6 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
www.nytimes.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:58 PM
📖🎉 Big book news! Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, is an Editors' Choice in the @nytimes.com this week. Zero Sum is out the US w/ @oxunipress.bsky.social. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
6 New Books We Recommend This Week www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/b...
6 New Books We Recommend This Week www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/b...
I am hugely grateful for this thoughtful and wonderfully written review of Zero Sum in The Tablet. As companies prepare to re-enter Russia, read what it was like when they entered 30 years ago - and evacuated 3 years ago. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I am hugely grateful for this thoughtful and wonderfully written review of Zero Sum in The Tablet. As companies prepare to re-enter Russia, read what it was like when they entered 30 years ago - and evacuated 3 years ago. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
What an honour for Zero Sum
to be reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com and by none other than Maria Lipman, whose work I have always admired. www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/zero... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
to be reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com and by none other than Maria Lipman, whose work I have always admired. www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/zero... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia
Hecker speaks with dozens of Western business executives, bankers, and financiers who reaped immense profits in the Russian market after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
www.foreignaffairs.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
What an honour for Zero Sum
to be reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com and by none other than Maria Lipman, whose work I have always admired. www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/zero... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
to be reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com and by none other than Maria Lipman, whose work I have always admired. www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/zero... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social
So grateful for the stewardship of @hurstpublishers.bsky.social and @michaeldwyer.bsky.social as Zero Sum gains recognition from reviews in publications like the @financialtimes.com and the @nytimes.com ⬇️
‘#ZeroSum is a smart, often colorful book, enlivened by the grim smirk of someone who has intimate knowledge of how the everyday #Russian #economy really works.’
Read the review of #ZeroSum by @charleshecker.bsky.social in @nytimes.com👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...
Read the review of #ZeroSum by @charleshecker.bsky.social in @nytimes.com👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...
Book Review: ‘Zero Sum,’ by Charles Hecker
As the Trump administration pushes for renewed business ties with Russia, a new book looks back at the companies that helped prop up illiberalism in the country.
www.nytimes.com
March 5, 2025 at 3:58 PM
So grateful for the stewardship of @hurstpublishers.bsky.social and @michaeldwyer.bsky.social as Zero Sum gains recognition from reviews in publications like the @financialtimes.com and the @nytimes.com ⬇️
Zero Sum's launch day in the US is accompanied by this wonderful review in the @nytimes.com by David Kortava of @foreignaffairs.com Zero Sum is available via @oxfordunipress.bsky.social and @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...
Book Review: ‘Zero Sum,’ by Charles Hecker
As the Trump administration pushes for renewed business ties with Russia, a new book looks back at the companies that helped prop up illiberalism in the country.
www.nytimes.com
March 4, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Zero Sum's launch day in the US is accompanied by this wonderful review in the @nytimes.com by David Kortava of @foreignaffairs.com Zero Sum is available via @oxfordunipress.bsky.social and @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...
It was such a pleasure to work on this creative project with @literaryhub.bsky.social If you want to understand contemporary Russia, rewind a few years - and then a few decades - to learn the most.
@charleshecker.bsky.social recommends nonfiction books that explain modern Russia by Joshua Yaffa, Svetlana Alexievich, David Remnick, and more.
Invasions, Empires, Political Bromances: Five Nonfiction Books That Explain Modern Russia
Shortly before my first business trip to Nigeria, I asked a group of colleagues—all learned West Africa analysts—to recommend a few books that would familiarize me with the powerhouse African natio…
buff.ly
March 4, 2025 at 9:43 PM
It was such a pleasure to work on this creative project with @literaryhub.bsky.social If you want to understand contemporary Russia, rewind a few years - and then a few decades - to learn the most.
Huge thanks to @joshuachuminski.bsky.social and the CSPC for being such gracious hosts today and providing such a fantastic platform to discuss my book. Dramatic change is afoot around the world; being in DC at a time like this is… electrifying (in a very complex way).
Author @charleshecker.bsky.social joined me at CSPC today to discuss his fascinating & timely new book “Zero Sum” (@hurstpublishers.bsky.social) about the role of international business in Russia’s economy & what the future could hold for the return of Western companies to the country.
March 4, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Huge thanks to @joshuachuminski.bsky.social and the CSPC for being such gracious hosts today and providing such a fantastic platform to discuss my book. Dramatic change is afoot around the world; being in DC at a time like this is… electrifying (in a very complex way).
Reposted by Charles Hecker
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @terrystiastny.bsky.social and @charleshecker.bsky.social on Trump-whispering, micro-managing and keeping influencers out of journalism, plus NATO's head of policy planning, Benedetta Berti-Alberti, interviewed at @munsecconf.bsky.social. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
How will European leaders play the Trump game?
As France’s Emmanuel Macron and the UK’s Keir Starmer visit the White House this week, we unpack how European leaders will approach Trump when it comes to…
monocle.com
February 26, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @terrystiastny.bsky.social and @charleshecker.bsky.social on Trump-whispering, micro-managing and keeping influencers out of journalism, plus NATO's head of policy planning, Benedetta Berti-Alberti, interviewed at @munsecconf.bsky.social. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Zero Sum in the US. I’m truly grateful. These feverish days are the perfect time to read about the triumphant highs and devastating lows in the history of Western business in Russia.
February 23, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Zero Sum in the US. I’m truly grateful. These feverish days are the perfect time to read about the triumphant highs and devastating lows in the history of Western business in Russia.
Zero Sum in the ‘Smart Thinking’ section @waterstones.bsky.social Picadilly. @benhnoble.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social Business, Russia and geopolitics. How timely.
February 22, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Zero Sum in the ‘Smart Thinking’ section @waterstones.bsky.social Picadilly. @benhnoble.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social Business, Russia and geopolitics. How timely.
Reposted by Charles Hecker
#Trump posits welcoming #Russia back into the #G7. As businesses prep for their re-entry plans to the Russian market, what did they learn on their way out? Read @charleshecker.bsky.social's #ZeroSum: The Arc of International Business in Russia. ‘Fascinating’ @financialtimes.com tinyurl.com/485er3kk
Zero Sum | Hurst Publishers
From communism to capitalism to collapse, the highs and lows of doing business in post-Soviet Russia.
tinyurl.com
February 21, 2025 at 1:24 PM
#Trump posits welcoming #Russia back into the #G7. As businesses prep for their re-entry plans to the Russian market, what did they learn on their way out? Read @charleshecker.bsky.social's #ZeroSum: The Arc of International Business in Russia. ‘Fascinating’ @financialtimes.com tinyurl.com/485er3kk
🚨Heads up New York! Join me on 27 March @columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s Harriman Institute for a book talk with Alexander Cooley on the past, present & future of int’l business in Russia. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxfordunipress.bsky.social Register ⬇️
harriman.columbia.edu/event/book-tal…
harriman.columbia.edu/event/book-tal…
https://harriman.columbia.edu/event/book-tal…
February 11, 2025 at 9:24 PM
🚨Heads up New York! Join me on 27 March @columbiauniversity.bsky.social’s Harriman Institute for a book talk with Alexander Cooley on the past, present & future of int’l business in Russia. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxfordunipress.bsky.social Register ⬇️
harriman.columbia.edu/event/book-tal…
harriman.columbia.edu/event/book-tal…
Catch me and David Benyon talking about Russia and geopolitical risk on the brilliant Political Risk Podcast, at the link below (and others too). Thanks, Dave, for letting me talk about my book Zero Sum, from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
The Political Risk Podcast
Business Podcast · 35 Episodes · Twice monthly
podcasts.apple.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Catch me and David Benyon talking about Russia and geopolitical risk on the brilliant Political Risk Podcast, at the link below (and others too). Thanks, Dave, for letting me talk about my book Zero Sum, from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
A now de-classified 1994 memo from the US Moscow embassy to the State Dept candidly warned that the US was getting it wrong in Russia. Its author suffered the consequences. Did the relationship suffer, too? A few thoughts from me, in @thespectator1828.bsky.social
www.spectator.co.uk/article/coul...
www.spectator.co.uk/article/coul...
Could Russia and America ever have got along?
A revealing, damning and fascinating diplomatic memorandum, sent in 1994 from the US embassy in Moscow, has recently been declassified.
www.spectator.co.uk
January 26, 2025 at 12:35 PM
A now de-classified 1994 memo from the US Moscow embassy to the State Dept candidly warned that the US was getting it wrong in Russia. Its author suffered the consequences. Did the relationship suffer, too? A few thoughts from me, in @thespectator1828.bsky.social
www.spectator.co.uk/article/coul...
www.spectator.co.uk/article/coul...
Steph, thanks. It was such a pleasure to be a guest on #MeetTheWriters, with you in control on the boards and @georginagodwin.bsky.social at the mic.
First new ep of #MeetTheWriters of 2025 features Monocle’s regular contributor @charleshecker.bsky.social who discusses his debut “Zero Sum” - a exploration of the adventures (or misadventures) of western capitalists venturing into the financial world of Soviet Russia - monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Charles Hecker: Russia’s zero-sum game
Charles Hecker’s 40-year career has seen him travelling and reporting from both the Soviet Union and Russia. He has worked as a journalist and a geopolitical…
monocle.com
January 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Steph, thanks. It was such a pleasure to be a guest on #MeetTheWriters, with you in control on the boards and @georginagodwin.bsky.social at the mic.
Reposted by Charles Hecker
🎧 Tune in to @charleshecker.bsky.social’s interview with @georginagodwin.bsky.social on Monocle Radio as he discusses his career in geopolitics, his experience living in Moscow, and his new book #ZeroSum: The Arc of International Business in #Russia 👇
monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Charles Hecker: Russia’s zero-sum game
Charles Hecker’s 40-year career has seen him travelling and reporting from both the Soviet Union and Russia. He has worked as a journalist and a geopolitical…
monocle.com
January 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM
🎧 Tune in to @charleshecker.bsky.social’s interview with @georginagodwin.bsky.social on Monocle Radio as he discusses his career in geopolitics, his experience living in Moscow, and his new book #ZeroSum: The Arc of International Business in #Russia 👇
monocle.com/radio/shows/...
monocle.com/radio/shows/...
It’s sitting down with an empathetic and supportive friend, but with a microphone switched on. Join me and @georginagodwin.bsky.social for a chat about books (and my book), Russia, business and gratitude for a book-world ‘bully’. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
January 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
It’s sitting down with an empathetic and supportive friend, but with a microphone switched on. Join me and @georginagodwin.bsky.social for a chat about books (and my book), Russia, business and gratitude for a book-world ‘bully’. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...
The very nice people @foylesforbooks.bsky.social on Charing Cross Road now have signed copies of Zero Sum from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. Thirty years of international #business in #Russia, from gold-rush stampede in the 1990s to head-for-the-exits in 2022. @benhnoble.bsky.social
January 4, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The very nice people @foylesforbooks.bsky.social on Charing Cross Road now have signed copies of Zero Sum from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. Thirty years of international #business in #Russia, from gold-rush stampede in the 1990s to head-for-the-exits in 2022. @benhnoble.bsky.social
Reposted by Charles Hecker
'the Westerners [in #Russia] were willing, well-paid accomplices in the construction and population of a #Potemkin village. Crooks, goons and cronies flourished behind the façade of democracy and capitalism.'
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @charleshecker.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @charleshecker.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Crooks and cronies: the heavy price we paid for doing business in Russia
In Zero Sum, Charles Hecker reveals the hubris, greed and gullibility of the Western investors who flocked into Russia to make big bucks
www.thetimes.com
January 4, 2025 at 10:16 AM
'the Westerners [in #Russia] were willing, well-paid accomplices in the construction and population of a #Potemkin village. Crooks, goons and cronies flourished behind the façade of democracy and capitalism.'
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @charleshecker.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
@hurstpublishers.bsky.social @charleshecker.bsky.social
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Thanks, @listentotimesradio.bsky.social and Ed Vaizey, for the chat about my book, Zero Sum, from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. The rollercoaster story of three astonishing decades of international #business in #Russia is in bookstores everywhere and online.
January 2, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Thanks, @listentotimesradio.bsky.social and Ed Vaizey, for the chat about my book, Zero Sum, from @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. The rollercoaster story of three astonishing decades of international #business in #Russia is in bookstores everywhere and online.
An impressive start to the week on both fronts, @joshuachuminski.bsky.social! Huge thanks for the shout-out. Am really eager for your feedback. (Will be cutting and pasting your crossword answers, btw.)
Starting the last Monday of 2024 (we made it…) with the @nytimes.com crossword (amusingly with ‘think tank’ as an answer) and @charleshecker.bsky.social’s newly released “Zero Sum” @hurstpublishers.bsky.social, a riveting exploration of the role of international business in post-Soviet Russia.
December 30, 2024 at 12:58 PM
An impressive start to the week on both fronts, @joshuachuminski.bsky.social! Huge thanks for the shout-out. Am really eager for your feedback. (Will be cutting and pasting your crossword answers, btw.)
Reposted by Charles Hecker
Starting the last Monday of 2024 (we made it…) with the @nytimes.com crossword (amusingly with ‘think tank’ as an answer) and @charleshecker.bsky.social’s newly released “Zero Sum” @hurstpublishers.bsky.social, a riveting exploration of the role of international business in post-Soviet Russia.
December 30, 2024 at 12:53 PM
Starting the last Monday of 2024 (we made it…) with the @nytimes.com crossword (amusingly with ‘think tank’ as an answer) and @charleshecker.bsky.social’s newly released “Zero Sum” @hurstpublishers.bsky.social, a riveting exploration of the role of international business in post-Soviet Russia.
Hatchards at St Pancras and on Piccadilly are wonderful places to buy great books. And yes, I have a particular book in mind. Zero Sum is out and about across London and the U.K. The current affairs lover you know - or the one in you - will enjoy this tale of modern Russia.
December 27, 2024 at 12:49 PM
Hatchards at St Pancras and on Piccadilly are wonderful places to buy great books. And yes, I have a particular book in mind. Zero Sum is out and about across London and the U.K. The current affairs lover you know - or the one in you - will enjoy this tale of modern Russia.