When I was researching into the Durrell in Russia series I came across a fascinating set of photos on Flickr of Durrell and Lee during their trip to the former USSR.
Durrell outside Russian cafe
The photographer, Byron Patchett, very kindly agreed to let me post some here to share with you (thanks again!). Continue reading
In 1984, Gerald Durrell and his wife Lee made an unprecedented trip to the then-USSR to make a 13-part TV series consisting of 30-minute documentaries about Soviet wildlife reserves. The Durrells’ visit behind the Iron Curtain preceded Mikhail Gorbachov‘s perestroika and glasnost reforms, and they and their film crew (funded by Soviet and Canadian interests as well as the UK’s Channel 4) were the first Westerners to film Soviet wildlife. Continue reading
