Fred Weir has been the Monitor's Moscow correspondent, covering Russia and the former Soviet Union, since 1998. He's traveled over much of that vast territory, reporting on stories ranging from Russia's financial crash to the war in Chechnya, creeping Islamization in central Asia, Russia's demographic crisis, the rise of Vladimir Putin and his repeated returns to the Kremlin, and the ups and downs of US-Russia relations.
Fred holds an honors B.A. in European history from the University of Toronto and a teaching degree from the Ontario College of Education. He was once also a journeyman Ironworker in Toronto's Local 721. He moved to the Soviet Union in 1986 and has lived there permanently ever since. He previously wrote for outlets such as Canadian Press, the Hindustan Times, The Independent, and the South China Morning Post. He is married with two children and lives in a small village near Moscow. Fred is the co-author of Revolution from Above: Russia's Path from Gorbachev to Putin, Routledge, 2007.
Stories by Fred Weir
- With Assad’s ouster, Russia’s Mideast influence collapses. What will Moscow do now?
- In shifting world, post-Soviet states look back to a constant: Russia
- Trump is back. Parents worldwide hope and fear for children’s futures.
- Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years. How did he last so long?
- At BRICS summit, Russia tries to build a world without the US
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