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About Alexander


Alexander Nekrassov can trace his ancestry back to two of the greatest Russian literary figures of the 19th century: novelist Leo Tolstoy and poet Nikolai Nekrassov. He is also related to the great Russian composer, Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov.

Born in Russia in 1957, Alexander has spent half of his life in Britain, having first come here in the 1960s with his mother and stepfather. The Vickvic Club, a book by his stepfather about his exploits in Britain, was a bestseller in Soviet Russia in the 1970s.

After graduating in 1979 from the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, where he read politics, international law and economics, Alexander worked as a reporter for the state press agency TASS and later as a TASS political correspondent, covering, among other things, high level talks in the Kremlin.

In 1989 Alexander came to Britain when he was appointed a political correspondent for the London office of TASS press agency. He wrote about major events in Britain and in Europe as a whole. He interviewed heads of governments, leading politicians and businessmen, and world-famous musicians, actors and artists.

In 1995 Alexander worked as an investigative journalist, writing for some of the biggest newspapers in Russia. He investigated cases of high-level corruption, tracked down Russian mafia bosses and uncovered the activities of international criminal gangs. He also visited Northern Ireland and interviewed members of paramilitary groups.

In 1995-96 Alexander became special advisor to the Kremlin, travelling back and forth between London and Moscow and devising an election strategy for Boris Yeltsin, helping him, eventually, to win the presidential elections in 1996.

In 1996-1997 Alexander acted as special advisor to the Security Council of Russia and dealt with matters relating to efforts to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict in Chechnya.

From 1991 until the present, Alexander has frequently appeared on British television as a commentator on world affairs. From early 1996 to late 1998 he took part in International Panel, a popular weekly one-hour current affairs programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. The show, which combined serious analysis of world affairs with humorous and provocative comment, attracted large audiences.

Alexander has been consulted by multinational companies on developing ties with the former Soviet Union and given advice to Russian firms keen on establishing links with businesses in the West.

Between 2003 and 2005 he acted as an advisor to the Russian Finance Minister, dealing with matters relating to the development of closer links between Russia and the West.

Alexander has written two political thrillers, Saving Ivan, available in bookshops and on the Internet, and Russian Roulette – The KGB Novellas, which was published in June 2008. He has recently finished his third thriller, The Debt Collector, and is currently writing Créme de la Krémlin, a satirical look at life behind the Kremlin walls.

He lives in London with his wife and son.