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Fueling Dreams, Embracing Innovation: The ZUS Coffee Journey

In the bustling world of specialty coffee, where every sip tells a story, ZUS Coffee emerges not just as a brand, but as a beacon of innovation and inclusivity. In a recent interview with Venon Tian, the Chief Operating Officer of ZUS Coffee, we delved deep into the ethos and aspirations of this remarkable brand, uncovering a narrative woven with passion, tradition, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Redesigning Coffee Culture

From its inception, ZUS Coffee harbored a noble mission—to redefine the role of specialty coffee in people’s lives. Venon Tian eloquently encapsulates this vision, emphasizing that ZUS Coffee aims to transform exceptional coffee from a mere luxury into a daily necessity. With a commitment to accessibility and affordability, ZUS Coffee embarks on a journey to democratize the coffee experience, ensuring that everyone can savor the richness of specialty brews, one cup at a time.

Honoring Tradition, Embracing Innovation

At the heart of ZUS Coffee lies a profound reverence for tradition, encapsulated in the brand’s logo—an homage to the legendary Ethiopian goat herder, Kaldi. This iconic figure, whose discovery of coffee’s stimulating properties ignited a global phenomenon, serves as a timeless symbol of authenticity and heritage. Through its logo, ZUS Coffee pays homage to Kaldi’s spirit of adventure and commitment to exceptional coffee experiences, seamlessly blending tradition with innovation.

Pioneering Tech-Driven Excellence

What sets ZUS Coffee apart from its competitors is its pioneering tech-driven approach. With seamless digital integration at its core, ZUS Coffee revolutionizes the coffee experience, from ordering to loyalty programs. By leveraging technology, ZUS Coffee optimizes costs, expands its reach, and ensures a hassle-free customer journey. This innovative ethos extends beyond the digital realm, permeating every aspect of the brand’s operations, making specialty coffee accessible and enjoyable for all.

Investment in Success

For aspiring franchisees, ZUS Coffee offers not just a business opportunity, but a pathway to success. Venon Tian reveals that, on average, it takes between 12 to 36 months for a ZUS Coffee franchisee to realize their investment. This timeframe accounts for initial setup costs, operational expenses, and the journey towards establishing a loyal customer base. However, with the right strategies, support, and dedication, franchisees can expect to reap the rewards of their investment within this window.

A Vision for the Future

Looking ahead, Venon Tian paints a compelling picture of ZUS Coffee’s future—a future defined by global recognition and sustained innovation. In the next five years, ZUS Coffee aims to solidify its position as a leader in the F&B industry, propelled by its tech-driven approach and unwavering commitment to quality. Beyond traditional cafes, ZUS Coffee sets its sights on diversifying into the FMCG sector, bringing its signature coffee experiences to homes and on-the-go consumers worldwide.

In Conclusion

One thing becomes abundantly clear—ZUS Coffee is not just a brand; it’s a movement. With its visionary leadership, dedication to quality, and innovative spirit, ZUS Coffee embodies the essence of modern coffee culture—a culture fueled by dreams, enriched by tradition, and propelled by relentless innovation. As coffee lovers around the world raise their cups to toast this remarkable journey, one can’t help but marvel at the boundless possibilities that lie ahead for ZUS Coffee and its passionate community of aficionados.

About Venon Tian, Chief Operating Officer, ZUS Coffee

Venon joined the ZUS Coffee family in 2020 – a new-age, technology-driven company that focuses on quality yet affordable coffee.

Prior to joining ZUS Coffee, Venon was a serial entrepreneur and had co-founded several other businesses, including eziPOD (IOT), Asia Digital Capital (investments/e-commerce), and a super franchisee for a leading retail chain.

A law graduate from the UK who advocates for operational excellence, he leads the company in all strategic and operational matters, setting up the core structure and being responsible for the business transformation and expansion of the company.

Venon has led ZUS Coffee to become the fastest-growing and largest coffee chain in Malaysia. He has won numerous awards, including the EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2023.

To read more about ZUS Coffee, visit their website at www.zuscoffee.com

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Zus vs Gigi: The Great Coffee War of the 21st Century

I don’t remember a time when I wouldn’t crave for the bittersweet taste of coffee to start my day ☕

When was the last time you woke up and didn’t look for a cup of coffee?

The first time I took my first sip of a 3-in-1 coffee, it opened my eyes to a new world and little did I know, there were more combinations to try, more beans to roast, and more brand reviews to post!

And so began my journey as a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur 😎✍🏼

Before we jump to the top trends of coffee brands in 2022, let’s take this chance to applaud the brands that set the bar high in our hearts and minds.

☕ Honouring the Classics ☕

1. malaysian classics.

‘Boss, kopi o satu!’

We all have a favourite store in mind when we crave for local coffee.

No matter the brand of coffee we use, Malaysians just know how to make heart-warming and fulfilling cuppa coffee.

Be it kopi o, kopi o peng, kopi o kosong, neslo (nescafe + milo), our local Malaysian classics will always be in our hearts.

Image credit: Chai Wai Foong Jason

Would you consider Malaysian coffee a brand on its own despite being a combination of different beans and flavours?

2. Starbucks

When Starbucks launched their first branch in Malaysia, the popular culture of having coffee with your name on the cup went off the roof.

People loved the concept of it, and it was the ideal justification to take pictures for social media aesthetics!

Yes, I’m guilty of going to Starbucks to get my name written on a cup and to shoot photos for my Instagram too 🫣 It’s not a crime!

Did you know, in the early years, there were conspiracy theories going around that said Starbucks baristas intentionally misspell common names like Amy and Bianca?

The owner of these misspelt coffee drinks would often take to social media to express their dissatisfaction but unknowingly to them, Starbucks gets free marketing just 👏🏼 like 👏🏼 that 👏🏼

People rushed over to their nearest Starbucks excitedly to see how baristas would spell their names and it was the curiosity that kept them coming back for more.

Starbucks’s marketing skills are hands down one of the best and you simply can’t deny it.

3. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

This old but gold rivalry between Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL) is said to still run behind closed doors 👀

Taking ports not too far from each other, CBTL is known to serve beverages with richer flavours compared to Starbucks.

The other clear difference between CBTL and Starbucks lies in their overall branding personality.

Starbucks is known for their adventurous, independent and aesthetically pleasing identity like the Explorer that they are.

Meanwhile, CBTL is known for their warm, approachable and welcoming nature, portraying themselves as the perfect Regular Guy.

And CBTL have stood by this brand archetype for decades, marketing their high quality coffee beans and tea leaves using heartwarming taglines to promote relatability.

Jan 2022 & July 2014

Image credit: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

These classics will always be in the pits of our hearts for years to come but with growing demand for affordable and trendy coffees, Malaysians began to venture new brands with new looks.

Some of the trendiest cuppa coffee you can get in town now are Zus Coffee and Gigi Coffee, or better known as their shorter names, Zus and Gigi.

Image credit: Zus Coffee & Gigi Coffee

They seem alike but little did you know, these two brands differ in many ways! Let’s take a deeper look into their brand identities, target audience and their marketing strategies that led to their growth and healthy competition.

Brand Identity 😲 💡

To better understand the workings of each brand and their marketing strategies, we must first look into their brand identities.

Knowing that Malaysians constantly wish for coffee that is delicious, affordable and Instagrammable , the founders of Zus made it their mission to fulfil this unspoken public outcry. Hence, the creation of;

A Necessity, ⚡ not a Luxury

This tagline from Zus has been the driving force for the brand to approach customers who strive to belong in the ‘coffee all-day everyday’ community.

From this single line, consumers would automatically feel reassured that the coffee they offer is affordable and the goal to be part of the community is indeed achievable 🥰

And from the looks of their coffee cups, the aesthetically pleasing interior designing of their cafes, getting the Instagram-worthy updates is not a problem 📸

By making coffee affordable and the concept relatable, Zus truly embodies the Regular Guy brand archetype.

But it’s not the only one 😆 It’s common enough for brands to combine different brand archetypes, giving more depth to their identity.

Aside from promoting affordability and approachability, Zus is also emphasising on their innovative technology.

Their order and delivery system via the Zus mobile app is definitely a commendable aspect that shows how much they value the importance of being physically available for customers whenever and wherever.

Even their delivered drinks come with a protective layer that avoids any spillage throughout the delivery.

The Magician in them thrives alongside their Regular Guy approach, giving the brand a boost in their identity.

But isn’t Gigi approachable and affordable too?

Yes! Gigi Coffee also embodies the Regular Guy archetype with the easy-going notion of their copywriting and visuals.

What differentiates them from Zus is that they aspire to inspire their consumers.

Your inspiration to do great in life, starting with “Everyday Great Coffee”

As you can see in the tagline, Gigi brings the message that with great coffee, you too can achieve great things in life, just like the Creator in them.

Even Gigi’s menu is a source of inspiration for people to think outside the box and try something new 💡

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by GIGI COFFEE (@gigicoffeemy)

It’s also not a wonder for Gigi to have a specialised cafe with a specialised interior that moves to inspire their customers – Gigi Coffee Home Barista.

Image credit: Gigi Coffee

They’ve provided an open space that promotes freedom for creatives to create, students to meet up and discuss for assignments, and overall inspire each and everyone of their consumers.

What better way to have coffee right?

Quick recap, we’ve gone through how both Zus and Gigi are both Regular Guys but they combine with two other different archetypes.

Zus is a combination of Regular Guy with the visionary Magician while Gigi is a combination of the Regular Guy with the inspiring Creator.

Now, let’s look into the next aspect of what makes them different; target audience.

👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏽 👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏼 Target Audience 👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏼 👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏽

While you can say every coffee connoisseur is happy at the sight and scent of a coffee shop, Zus and Gigi targets different groups of people.

Zus is known to have much more physical stores as compared to Gigi, which also indicates that they are targeting to attract people who have access to their own transportation.

With the growing flexibility of working styles nowadays, people of the working class would often head to cafes that are accessible and affordable, making Zus one of the top brands in mind.

Statistically speaking, stand alone cafes like Zus often have less disturbances and are quieter compared to malls, where Gigi takes the front.

And to add to that, you’ll find that Zus chooses locations that are close to offices and factories for their cafes. Not too hard to find affordable coffees nowadays, right 🫣🤭

Like I mentioned above, Gigi is much more often found in malls rather than stand alone cafes.

Do you remember walking around in malls after class when you were in college?

There wasn’t any particular reason to be there but the idea of window shopping with friends was the best way to spend time while waiting for the next class.

I certainly do ☺️💭

Back then, it was the boba craze, and now it’s coffee!

What’s even more apparent that Gigi targets university and college students is that their coffees are sweeter than Zus.

It’s no surprise that Gigi’s Buttercream Latte was one of the most famous drinks when they first started out.

Their social media is quite the epitome of ‘target the young with sweet and fun!’.

Speaking of which, let’s jump into the last category of the Zus vs Gigi Coffee War 🏃🏽‍♀️

🎯 Social Media Marketing Strategies 🎯

It doesn’t take a pro-marketer to notice that the marketing trends have shifted to digital platforms ever since the pandemic.

Both Zus and Gigi are taking advantage of it!

Their presence on Instagram (one of the top reasons why their coffees are so Instagrammable) is impeccable!

Up till December 2022, Zus has 61.7 thousand followers while Gigi has 12.3 thousand followers 🤯

For Zus, their social media posts are catered to the working class, with emphasis on ‘work hard, play hard’ 💃🏻🕺🏻

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ZUS COFFEE® (@zus.coffee)

Even their giveaway prizes are more suitable for the working class.

They sure know how to attract us 😍🥹

Meanwhile, since Gigi targets young university students, their captions and posts focus a lot on new menus to try, collaborations and new Gigi branches.

Their latest collaboration with Coach is a definite eye-catching campaign.

The feeling of posh and exclusive yet still affordable is exactly what students love 👏🏼

Plus, Gigi even got some of the most famous Malaysian TikTokers to join the campaign!

Who else knows them better than university students 😆

Spot Imran Bard, Johanis and other top TikTokers in this video 🔍

Key Takeaway 🔑

Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered in this article.

All in all, Malaysia is evidently pro-coffee all day everyday! Despite the differences, we each have our preferences in terms of flavour and menu.

But with distinct marketing and brand strategies, each brand was able to get their message across and bring satisfaction to their consumers.

If you haven’t tried these two brands, pick up their latest addition and let us know how you’d rate them (from the marketing perspective of course!).

To read more on brand wars, head to our Chatime vs Tealive where we spill more tea on the brands 🫣🫢

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ZUS Coffee | Malaysia #1 Tech-Driven Coffee Chain

a Necessity, not a Luxury

It’s Time For A New Age Of Coffee

For many, coffee is a daily need. Specialty coffee, however, is often seen as a luxury, something you treat yourself to only on special occasions. We started ZUS Coffee to change this perception.

Ever since we started in December 2019

active APP users

outlets across Malaysia

cups delivered

drinks selection

We Are All About Customer Experience

Specialty Coffee Made Affordable

We source our own unique coffee beans from Brazil FAF and roast them locally. Taking full control of the quality and price point to make specialty coffee affordable for everyone.

Quality & Convenience

We pride ourselves on serving you great coffee at your great convenience. Freshly brewed ZUS Coffee, handcrafted in-store, delivered straight to you.

Online To Offline

We make it so easy for you to order your favourite drink on the go, before collecting in-store or having it delivered to your doorstep, with just a few taps on ZUS Coffee App,

We Are Serious About Our Beans

Partnering only with the best in the industry, our roasting partner has over 50 years of experience in the Coffee Roasting Industry. Sourcing only the best specimens from over 25 countries across 4 continents.

Our roasting partner’s stringent attitude toward quality means they come decorated with ISO22000, HACCP, & Halal Certificates.

After spending countless hours, we have found the perfect blue for our Signature ZUS Cup. PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, voted as PANTONE’s colour of the year 2020. The perfect colour to ZUS Coffee lovers!

Innovative Coffee in an Innovative Era

Driven by technology, our retail model is built upon our Mobile App and store network.

Table of Contents

Ingredients

The secret sauce behind ZUS Coffee's growth and success.

Learn from the VP of Marketing from ZUS Coffee on how they scaled their retail business and successfully entered different market segments.

Stephy is the VP of marketing and growth behind the proudly local coffee brand, ZUS Coffee.

But this is not her first rodeo. Stephy has successfully contributed to the amazing growth of startups like SoCar, Sonno Malaysia and now ZUS Coffee. Her superpowers lie in performance marketing, but she often adopts an integrated marketing approach to scaling these businesses.

In this episode, Reuben chats with Stephy to learn how ZUS Coffee scaled its retail business to more than 200 outlets in a short span of 2 years, the marketing strategies they adopted to enter different market segments, and the advertising efforts towards converting and retaining their customers.

🎤 Learn more from Stephy as she shares more actionable insights at the Underdog Ad Con happening very soon: https://underdog.dailycmo.net/

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• The Best Modern Cafes In...

The Best Modern Cafés in Moscow

Contributor / Journalist

While modern Moscow is full of great coffee and a lot of chain cafés, sometimes it can be hard to navigate, especially if you want to try something special or visit an interesting spot with contemporary design and furniture inside. Here to help is a freshly updated guide on Moscow’s best contemporary coffee spots. This map shares where to find the brightest sweet raf coffee (famous exclusively in Russia), the best-made espresso, a ridiculously wonderful café latte with matcha, or just a really good drip coffee.

1. one teaspoon cafe.

Cafe, Coffee, Russian, Dessert

A tiny and rustic-chic café that’s packed into the afternoon with locals, this is a great spot for coffee lovers who prefer to visit a particular place without the boring atmosphere of a typical chain café. An extensive menu offers a great choice even for a picky coffee-addicted visitor and numerous baked goods and local desserts. Just keep in mind you should check a map carefully before visiting it.

2. Mandarin Combustible Cafe & Bar

Bar, Cocktail Bar, Wine Bar, Restaurant, Pub Grub, Russian, European, Asian

Mandarin Combustible is undoubtedly one of the best coffee and cocktail spots in a central neighborhood of Moscow, with its unique menu full of fusion drinks coming from European and Asian parts of the world. Drinks come beautifully prepared and are served in Asian and Russian porcelain cups and interesting glasses. Plus there are some prepared fish salads and pre-packaged sandwiches for the lunch crowds.

3. Tehnikum

Bistro, Gastropub, Pub Grub, Russian, Contemporary, Coffee, Dessert

Tehnikum is a modern gastro bistro and café located in the center of Moscow, not far from The Bolshoi Theatre. This place is all about exciting contemporary food, coffee, and tea and home-made desserts. The interior was designed especially for the place by Olga Treyvas and Vera Odyn, two famous Russian contemporary architects.

4. NUDE Coffee & Wine Bar

Cafe, Coffee Shop, Bar, Wine Bar, Russian, Coffee

NUDE is a beloved spot of the fashionable locals, located right in the heart of Patriarch Ponds, a historical neighborhood of Moscow. Drip coffee and the matcha latte both anchor the menu of this stylish coffee bar. It’s a much stronger choice for coffee than the several chain stores located in this area and it serves a superb apple pie and breakfast. And wine, of course!

5. Table Cafe

Cafe, Coffee, Russian

The Table Cafe, located in the business district of Moscow, has an energetic yet relaxed vibe with accompanying tunes and good music in the background. The standout offering here is their signature matcha latte coffee, which is very tasty. Wine and prosecco are available here, as well as interesting weekend brunch options. Book in advance for a weekend and come without a reservation during the week.

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Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia from Lenin to Putin Hardcover – Large Print, 23 July 2020

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• Print length 256 pages
• Language English
• Publisher I.B. Tauris
• Publication date 23 July 2020
• Dimensions 16.36 x 2.5 x 23.8 cm
• ISBN-10 0755601157
• ISBN-13 978-0755601158
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About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ I.B. Tauris (23 July 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0755601157
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0755601158
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.36 x 2.5 x 23.8 cm
• 1,224 in Russian Historical Biographies
• 1,529 in British Historical Biographies from 1901 Onwards

About the author

James rodgers.

James Rodgers writes books on international affairs, especially armed conflict. His work has a focus on how the stories of those events are told to the world. Much of his writing draws on his own experience reporting from the former Soviet Union and the Middle East as a journalist from the 1990s onwards. During his BBC career (1995-2010), James completed postings in Moscow, Brussels, and Gaza where, from 2002-2004, he was the only international correspondent based in the territory. His numerous other assignments included New York and Washington following the September 11th attacks; reporting from Iraq in 2003 and 2004 during the United States-led invasion; and covering the wars in Chechnya.

James now lectures in International Journalism at City, University of London. He still works as a journalist, too--contributing work to the BBC, NBC Think, Forbes.com, Monocle Radio, and others.

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Not Your Regular Cup of Joe

Black rifle coffee company gives back to u of i veterans through operation education fund.

The black firearm he carried for most of his military career inspired the name of former University of Idaho student Evan Hafer’s brand of coffee. The sacrifice of fellow service members inspired his recent gift to a U of I veterans’ program.

The two are indelibly linked.

Hafer, who grew up in Weippe and Lewiston and who attended U of I to study political science, spent 20 years in the Army, mostly as a green beret.

During slow times on duty, often with a black rifle hanging from a sling on his back, he perfected his hobby of roasting coffee. When Hafer left the military, he turned his aromatic pastime into the multimillion-dollar Black Rifle Coffee Company .

This spring, Hafer and Black Rifle donated $50,000 to Operation Education , a U of I scholarship program that helps veterans cover college expenses.

The gift will provide university veteran scholarship programs and the people they serve with a stronger financial base, said Jason Nierman, U of I’s director of Military and Veteran Services .

“It’s extremely important because it gives us predictability on how many long-term scholarships we can provide to our veteran students,” Nierman said.

After returning from combat overseas, Moscow Police Officer Jason House used an Operation Education scholarship to earn his bachelor’s degree. House served with an Army unit when he was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq more than a decade ago.

While recovering in a Texas military hospital, House, who grew up in Deary, received a call from a veteran’s recruiter from U of I, inviting him to become a Vandal.

“Growing up, I never thought I’d go to college,” House said. “I never thought that was obtainable, but with Operation Education, it definitely was.”

In addition to helping defray living expenses or aid in tuition, Operation Education programs help participants find a mentor and peer network.

“The people I met at the group’s luncheons and gatherings were a real benefit to my educational career,” House said. “We’re still friends to this day.”

Financial help from Operation Education was paramount in Jennifer Tengono’s journey to pursue a law degree.

When she left the military after eight years of service, Tengono earned a bachelor’s degree while working as a sheriff’s deputy in Utah. On assignment as a bailiff, Tengono learned about U of I’s law program.

She moved to Moscow and, as a single mother who spent most waking hours preparing to pass the bar, Operation Education helped pay her costly childcare expenses.

Like many veterans, Tengono, now a Moscow-based attorney, had to be encouraged to ask for the financial help that Operation Education provided.

“A lot of veterans don’t think they deserve it,” she said. “To all the veterans: You are deserving.”

We know what it feels like being the new guy stepping into the corporate world for the first time after having spent the last five years running missions in Ramadi. Evan Hafer

For Hafer, whose Black Rifle Coffee Company is operated mostly by veterans, the donation to Operation Education is in line with the company’s mission to support veterans, law enforcement and first responders with proceeds from each order.

“It can be hard for veterans to adapt, and we want to give them opportunities that will help them succeed in places where they are qualified, but may not have seen themselves,” Hafer said. “We know what it feels like being the new guy stepping into the corporate world for the first time after having spent the last five years running missions in Ramadi.”

Hafer, who was part of the Army ROTC  program during his time at U of I, will receive honorary alumni status from the university this spring.

“Evan has always kept his eye on supporting causes that are important to him,” said Brad Martin, director of development for Military and Veteran Services, former professor of military science for U of I’s Chrisman Battalion and retired lieutenant colonel. “I can think of no one more deserving of the status of honorary alumni of the University of Idaho.”

Because Operation Education is a donor-funded scholarship, donations such as Hafer’s and Black Rifle Coffee’s, will have a real-world impact on a veteran’s life, Nierman said.

“From assisting with books and fees to helping afford medical care, our donors have a profound influence on the experience our veterans have while completing their degree,”

Nierman said. “It’s nice to know we have gifts like this to support a veteran all the way to graduation.”

Article by Ralph Bartholdt , University Communications and Marketing.

Evan Hafer photo submitted and used with permission.

Other photography by University of Idaho Creative Services.

Published May 2021.

This is a site about the books and other writing by James Rodgers, author of Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia From Lenin to Putin ( new edition 2023 ; first published July 2020); Headlines from the Holy Land (2015 and 2017); No Road Home: Fighting for Land and Faith in Gaza (2013); Reporting Conflict (2012). My work looks at how stories of international affairs, especially armed conflict, are told to the world.

I am an author and journalist. During two decades of covering international news, I reported on the end of the Soviet Union; the wars in Chechnya; the coming to power of Vladimir Putin; 9/11; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the 2003 war in Iraq; Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008. I completed correspondent postings for the BBC in Moscow, Brussels, and Gaza. I now teach in the Journalism Department at City, University of London.

Assignment Moscow: Russia’s Story From Lenin To Putin

I outlined some of my ideas from Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia from Lenin to Putin in a recent piece for The Conversation . I am republishing it here .

WHAT A CONTRAST IT WAS . In early May 2000, Vladimir Putin strode through the Kremlin’s gilded corridors, his progress relayed on live TV across the world’s largest country, and beyond. I was reporting from Moscow for the BBC. Putin looked purposeful, slim and sober as he swore to uphold the constitution of the Russian Federation.

During the 1990s, the international press corps in Moscow had become used to the president of Russia as an unpredictable character: impulsive, sometimes even drunk in public. But Boris Yeltsin resigned suddenly on the last day of 1999. As the constitution required, his acting successor – Vladimir Putin, a prime minister who had built his reputation by taking the fight to separatists in Chechnya – had to stand for election to be confirmed in his post. He was duly elected.

Two decades later, Putin’s critics argue that he has upended that constitution – introducing changes, by means of a recent national vote, that mean he  could stay in power  until he is 83.

None of the correspondents in Moscow in May 2000 stopped to think that Putin might be in power so long. He probably did not foresee it himself. At the time, his arrival appeared to be a necessary corrective to the chaos that had gone before.

We correspondents had certainly seen plenty of that: for the few winners of Russia’s new bandit capitalism, there had been unimaginable wealth; for many more, uncertainty and unpaid wages. From the years of political and economic chaos that had followed the collapse of communism, another kind of leader now emerged – one who was very much a product of the Soviet system in which he had grown up.

Because relatively few westerners or other foreigners have visited Russia, those correspondents who have ventured there have had a disproportionate influence on forming outside opinion of the country. At various times, Russia has welcomed them, expelled them – or banned them altogether.

Theirs is the story I tell in my  new book , Assignment Moscow: Reporting on Russia From Lenin to Putin. In short, Russia’s treatment of international correspondents tells the story of its relations with the rest of the world.

‘A Window On The Country’

I first visited the Soviet Union as a language student in 1987. Four years later, I returned as a TV news producer. It was my first foreign assignment. It was also the year when the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Major change had been underway for some years. That era of reform – started in the 1980s by the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev – was also a golden age for international correspondents.

Fred Weir – whom I interviewed for the book – first went to Moscow in 1986 as correspondent for a Communist newspaper, the Canadian Tribune. He has reported for many other English-language publications since, and still does. He remembers that “a window on the country”, opened for foreign journalists as the Gorbachev era got underway. Travel restrictions remained, but were eased. Yet while it was not clear which direction the Soviet Union would take, few foresaw such a complete and sudden collapse of the system.

The brightest correspondents who have covered Russia have always tried to understand the country, its language, history and culture. Their insight has often enabled them to guess what was coming.

Journalism is designed to capture the sense of a moment, of a day. The greater understanding and interpretation is left for historians, who often benefit from a wider range of sources, and the power of hindsight. Yet the work of the best reporters from Russia – even as far back as the revolutions of 1917 – is still worth reading today.

Sympathies In The Struggle

For weeks after Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik followers seized power in November 1917, conservative newspapers gleefully predicted their downfall. Arthur Ransome – better known today as an author of children’s books, including the childhood idyll Swallows and Amazons – and Morgan Philips Price of the Manchester Guardian both stand out as two who correctly predicted that the Bolshevik regime would endure.

They were curious, both spoke good Russian, and had extensive contacts in political circles. Reporters could speak to revolutionaries, workers and peasants. Diplomats did not have the same freedoms, so they were slower to appreciate that the Tsar’s dynasty was doomed.

Philips Price and Ransome were not unbiased observers. Nor was John Reed, the charismatic young author of  Ten Days that Shook the World , which was about the revolution. He admitted as much when he wrote: “My sympathies in the struggle were not neutral.”

Correspondence in the Guardian’s archives shows the length to which the paper later went to distance itself from Philips Price. A pamphlet which he wrote was deemed so inspiring by the Bolsheviks that they used it as propaganda to dissuade British troops who had entered Russia to reverse the revolution. As for Ransome, he clearly admired Lenin, and later married Leon Trotsky’s secretary.

Correspondents who were so impressed by Lenin found their counterparts in later admirers of Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and Mikhail Gorbachev. In the 1930s, the king of Moscow correspondents was Walter Duranty of the New York Times. His 1990s biographer, SJ Taylor, declared him  Stalin’s apologist .

The recent film  Mr Jones  remembers Duranty’s refusal to report the famine in Ukraine in the 1930s. His playing down of the mass starvation kept him in favour with Stalin’s regime, and he later took credit for the US’s diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union.

Another pioneering correspondent could not believe what seemed to be astonishing luck as she crossed into Russia at its border with Poland without the right papers and was still able to make her way to Moscow. Marguerite Harrison, hailed by the New York Times as a “brilliant news writer”, called her 1936 autobiography  Born For Trouble .

One trouble in her case was that she was not just a great reporter. She was also an American spy. In her defence, Harrison’s gender had prevented her from getting the journalistic assignment, so she agreed to work for US military intelligence too. She ended up in a Moscow prison cell, but her luck held out long enough for her to get an interview with Trotsky. Her excellent access was later explained by the fact that the Soviets knew what she was up to, and wanted to keep an eye on her.

‘Hostile actors’

The sense of press freedom – the “window on the country” that Weir remembers – endured through the first chaotic decade of post-Soviet Russia. It no longer does. Western correspondents “are seen more as hostile actors”, Matthew Chance, who has reported from Russia for CNN since the late 1990s, told me. In an age when Russia’s relations with the west – especially the UK – are worse than at any time since the cold war, correspondents face great challenges. Access “is negligible”, Chance argues.

Journalism itself is in crisis: criticized not only by leaders in countries where the media has rarely been free, but also ignored and chastised by governments in the west. Russia’s media policy in recent years shows a shift towards wanting to tell its own story, through RT and its other international media platforms, rather than engaging with western media. Still, recent  verbal assaults  and veiled threats to the Financial Times and New York Times over their reporting of coronavirus statistics shows that international coverage can still sting.

The brightest correspondents who have covered Russia have always tried to understand the country, its language, history and culture. Their insight has sometimes – as in the case of Ransome and Philips Price – enabled them to guess what was coming.

My generation of correspondents may have witnessed, and understood, the factors that delivered Putin’s initial popularity: his tough line on fighting separatists in Chechnya and his determination to bring Russia’s new tycoons – the oligarchs – under the Kremlin’s control.

I see now that I did not realise fully what I was witnessing that day in May 2000. Looking back two decades later, it feels like the start of yet another revolutionary period in Russia’s history. What seemed then like a peaceful transition of power was the beginning of a new system – the Putin system – that endures to this day, and may last yet longer: giving Moscow correspondents plenty more to write about.

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