Keith Allan

Every November we recognise the brave British and Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen who served in North West Russia during World War One, including the Allied Intervention period of 1918-19, and World War Two. This was a particularly important year as we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic […]

I was in Liverpool on 31 October to attend an event in honour of the 75th anniversary of the Arctic Convoys. It was two months to the day since we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic Convoys in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal […]

My latest trip in the North West Federal District of Russia took me to Solovetsky Island, or Solovky Island, which is located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. The main Solovetsky Island is part of an archipelago of six islands. This is a beautiful, remote, some say spiritual place, with a rich history […]

Russia celebrated Victory Day on 9 May. Commemorative events took place across the country. In St Petersburg, I joined the Governor and thousands of St Petersburg residents to lay flowers at Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, where half a million of the victims of the Leningrad Siege are buried. The following day I was in Murmansk, another […]

My latest regional visit took me outside of the North West Federal District to the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a 2.5 hour flight from St Petersburg. I had always wanted to visit Rostov-on-Don, a city that is twinned with my home city of Glasgow in Scotland. I was delighted therefore when I was asked […]