Shaun Walker (journalist)

Shaun Walker (born 1981/1982) is a British journalist and author, noted primarily for his writing on Ukraine and Russia for British newspaper The Guardian.[1] Walker was shortlisted for the 2024 UK Press Awards.[2]

Early life and education

Walker visited Russia for the first time as an 18-year-old, in 2000, working as an English teacher, and then travelling around the country.[3] He then returned home to the UK, where he studied Russian and Soviet history at Oxford University.[4] After completing his studies, Walker returned to Moscow at the end of 2003, working for an NGO for a year, before taking up journalism.[3]

Career

Walker worked for British newspaper The Independent from 2007, and was its Moscow correspondent until 2013.[5] From 2014, working for The Guardian, primarily as its Ukraine and Russia correspondent, he has extensively covered the war in Donbas.[6] As of 2018 Walker was living in Budapest, Hungary.[3] From 2019, he has been The Guardian's central and eastern Europe correspondent.[6]

Walker is the author of the non-fiction books Odessa Dreams: The Dark Heart of Ukraine's Online Marriage Industry (2014) and The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past (2018).[7] The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West (2025) is about the agents who lived apparently normal lives in the west as part of Soviet espionage programmes.[8][9][10][11]

Political views

Walker has been criticised for some his pro-Russian writings prior to 2022, including a 2014 article for The Guardian entitled "I can't stop dreaming about Vladimir Putin", and his positive comments on Russia at the time of the 2018 World Cup.[1]

Publications

  • Odessa Dreams: The Dark Heart of Ukraine's Online Marriage Industry (2014)
  • The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past (2018)
  • The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West (2025)[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ashenden, Robin (25 March 2023). "Why was the West so slow to see Putin's true colours?". The Spectator. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  2. ^ "2024 Press Awards Finalists Shaun Walker". Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Walker, Shaun (18 February 2018). "Putin's quest for lost glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  4. ^ "The Importance of History: Reflections from a Foreign Correspondent". Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Shaun Walker at the Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Shaun Walker profile". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  7. ^ Bullough, Oliver (25 February 2018). "The Long Hangover by Shaun Walker – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  8. ^ Finder, Joseph (17 April 2025). "The Russian Spies Who Lived Among Us — in New Jersey". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  9. ^ "The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies by Shaun Walker review". The Scotsman. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Double agents and married moles – gripping tales of Soviet spy craft in Shaun Walker's The Illegals". www.independent.ie. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  11. ^ Owen, James (5 April 2025). "Meet 'the illegals' — Russia's spies next door". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  12. ^ Sisman, Adam (20 April 2025). "The Illegals by Shaun Walker review – Russian spies hiding in plain sight". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 May 2025.


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