Career
A competitive swimmer in Russia, Patrushev became a broadcaster, journalist, conference interpreter and translator in the West, working for the British Broadcasting Corporation in London and later for the Radio Liberty in Munich and San Francisco, as well as writing for Australian newspapers, radio and television He has worked as a Senior Consultant, Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe for (Chatswood-based) Conflict Resolution Network. Patrushev"s commentaries in the Sydney Morning Herald and on the national radio and television established him as one of the pre-eminent commentators on Soviet and Russian affairs
His work as an interpreter with American and Russian scientists in the 80’s and 90’s in the areas of brain/mind interaction provided him with a wealth of material for his book Project Nirvana.
Reportedly, when Patrushev visited his native Soviet Union in 1990 for the first time in 28 years - "the country which, only a few weeks before his return, overturned the death penalty imposed on him for his dramatic escape abroad all those years ago" - he was taken away by guards and detained for more than eight hours when he first arrived at Moscow Airport. Although both Soviet and Australian authorities had assured Patrushev that it was safe for him to travel to the Soviet Union on his Australian passport, he was still detained, "most of the time in a hot and stuffy airport hotel, without being able to contact the Australian Embassy or his waiting relatives." He was freed with no explanation, except that of the hotel manager who commented: "See, perestroika is working.".
