As the Moscow correspondent for Time magazine (1996-2001), Andrew Meier reported from Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. His recent book, "Black Earth: A Journey Through Russia After the Fall" (2003-2004), was named a "Book of the Year" by the Economist. Over the past decade, Meier interviewed most of Russia's top political and business leaders, as well as numerous crime bosses, and his work has also appeared in the Financial Times magazine, National Geographic, the New Republic, the New York Times and the Washington Post, among other publications. "The Oligarch's Ball" (Harper's, April 2004) investigated relations between US government officials and Russian oligarchs. "In Cold Blood" (Outside, December 2004) probed the rise of criminal enterprises in far-eastern Russia. A graduate of Wesleyan and Oxford, Meier is the Whiting Foundation Fellow at the New York Public Library's Cullman Center (2005-6), and previously a recipient of fellowships from the NEH (2005), Woodrow Wilson International Center and the Alicia Patterson Foundation. Meier probed Russia's 1998 economic crash for a PBS-Frontline documentary, and, more recently, was the lead reporter for a Bill Moyers special about 9/11. He speaks fluent Russian and is a frequent commentator on the BBC, CNN and NPR.

contact: andrew.meier@earthlink.net