The captivating account of a young female television producer's adventures bringing Sesame Street to post-communist Russia. In the early 1990s, communism had collapsed and Russia was finally awakening, economically and culturally. The timing appeared perfect to bring Sesame Street to millions of children across the country, introducing them to Western liberal values, capitalism, and concepts such as diversity and inclusion. No one had any idea just how challenging this would prove to be. In Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia, Natasha Lance Rogoff brings this gripping drama to life. Rogoff, a young American television producer fluent in Russian, was chosen to lead a crew of American and Russian artists, producers, educators, writers, and puppeteers to create the Russian adaptation. During the four-year production, against the backdrop of bombings and the assassination of her Russian broadcast partners, Rogoff remained determined to bring humor, entertainment, and democracy to Russian children. With a sharp wit and compassion for her Russian colleagues, Rogoff observes how cultural clashes colored nearly every aspect of the production, from the show's educational framework to scriptwriting to the new Slavic Muppets themselves, often pitting Sesame Street's Western values against five centuries of Russian thought. In spite of the challenges, the show would go on to become a major hit, airing for over a decade. Muppets in Moscow reveals all the amazing, elaborate, behind-the-scenes action and work that goes into the making of a beloved children's television show-from creating the Muppets and determining their distinct "personalities" to hiring the actors and creating the set-all while ensuring that Russian culture is respected and represented. More than just a story of a children's show, this book explores Russia's people, their culture, and their relationship with the West that remains relevant even today.
Natasha Lance Rogoff is an award-winning television producer and journalist whose writings have appeared in mainstream international newspapers and magazines that include The San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out London, and Stadt Zeitung in Germany. She currently blogs about Russia and children's television on Huffington Post and Medium. Rogoff served as Executive Producer of Sesame Street International from 1992-1997. She also produced television news and documentaries in Soviet Russia for CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS Frontline for two decades. Rogoff's 1985 film, Rock Around the Kremlin, aired on ABC's 20/20. In 1993, Rogoff's award-winning documentary, Russia for Sale: The Rough Road to Capitalism, aired nationally on PBS TV and received wide praise. In 2011, Rogoff launched an ed-tech startup, Ingredients for Education, which features KickinNutrition.TV, a children's health education video platform. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The captivating account of a young female television producer's adventures adapting Sesame Street in a post-communist Russia.
In this thrilling debut, television producer and filmmaker Rogoff recounts her mission to bring Sesame Street to Russian audiences. In 1993, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sesame Workshop hired the Russian-speaking Rogoff to serve as the lead producer for Ulitsa Sezam--the Russian coproduction of the children's program Sesame Street. Part of an American effort to help Russia transition to becoming a Western-style democracy, Ulitsa Sezam, Rogoff explains, was considered the perfect vehicle to convey democratic values of tolerance and inclusion to Russian children. Ulitsa Sezam enjoyed a successful run in Russia from 1996 to 2010, but as Rogoff reveals in captivating detail, its success came with challenges, from resistance among the show's Russian crew (citing Russia's "long, rich and revered puppet tradition" the lead writer told Rogoff "we don't need your American Moppets in our children's show") to an armed takeover by Russian soldiers of the initiative's offices in Moscow. Still, Rogoff persisted, enabling the creation of wholly new muppet characters that resonated with Russian audiences, all while balancing the task of new motherhood, even as the venture tottered on the verge of collapse multiple times. The resulting tale is one of perseverance and creativity that illuminates how even the most disparate cultures and perspectives can find common ground.-- "Publishers Weekly, Starred Review" Muppets in Moscow is sheer fun, but with remarkable and deep insights into the tumult that was Russia a half decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The general reader will be charmed and moved by what transpires when Russian puppeteers, artists, producers, educators, bureaucrats, and business sponsors meet Big Bird, Elmo, and Bernie and are tasked with creating a Russian version true to what for them are the alien values of Sesame Street. The specialist, however, who thinks they know what these transitional years were like may learn the most because this story---intimately told through the daily conversations and battles that Lance Rogoff had with all involved---conveys as well as any book the detail and texture of the tension between the old and the new. Between deeply entrenched attitudes and habits, even among distinguished literati, and those of a younger generation of creative artists eager to give expression to new fresh ideas.--Robert Legvold At a time when Vladimir Putin's government has revealed itself to the world in its true and hideous colors--essentially those of a fascist regime--Natasha Lance Rogoff's account of importing Sesame Street (Ulitsa Zesam) to post-Soviet Moscow is a captivating read. Anyone who spent time in Russia in the 1990s will remember the Weimar Republic ambience: the incongruous combination of giddy hope with economic chaos and criminal violence, the Harvard economists on one side of the table, the future oligarchs with Uzis on the other. Muppets in Moscow is that clash of civilizations in microcosm. Oh, and it's also a love story. I adored it.--Niall Ferguson, author, Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe Fascinating and timely, Muppets in Moscow is an enthralling read; such a unique story that highlights the turmoil of the fall of the Soviet era, and the difficult growing pains of a culture trying desperately to shift into the modern age. Loved every minute of it, and I'll never look at Sesame Street the same way again!--Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires, adapted into the 2009 hit film The Social Network In sharing her story of bringing Sesame Street to Russia, Natasha Lance Rogoff serves up a literary treat that couldn't be more perfectly timed. Muppets in Moscow is a psychological portrait of a post-Soviet society in crisis--corrupt, chaotic, and soon to be all-too-ready for Vladimir Putin. It's great reading, filled with unforgettable stories and thoughtful insights--and leavened by a big dose of humor, too.--Judith Warner, best-selling author of Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety The story of how Ulitsa Sezam came to be is ultimately a story of heroism; a woman with an unshakable vision along with a multinational team of people willing to give it a try. A tale about taking a beloved American institution and navigating a foreign system that did not welcome it and making it a success--affecting countless young lives and giving millions hope when so often it's hard to find. Natasha Lance Rogoff's recounting of this journey is colorful, heartfelt, self-revealing, and inspiring. I don't know who first asked the question "Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street," but after reading this I know who has the answer.--Virginia Madsen, Academy Award-nominated actress and film producer Moscow was once the capital of the Evil Empire of the USSR. Today it is in the grip of the ruthless Vladimir Putin. It is easy to forget the heady period in between and the seemingly endless possibilities that opened up to Russian society. Muppets in Moscow is a humane, endearing, and brilliant account of that time in Russia through the eyes of an American team of children's story tellers. A team who genuinely believed that there was a place for Sesame Street in Russia. Extraordinary, moving, inspiring, and delightful all at once.--Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Author Muppets in Moscow is a brilliantly written, astonishing account of the difficulties of bringing America's most-loved children's show to post-communist Russia. Thoughtful, moving, humane, and unforgettable, I didn't want it to end.--Marti Leimbach, bestselling author of Dying Young and Daniel Isn't Talking Muppets in Moscow is a gripping and intimate account of the early days of post-Soviet Russia, where danger was behind every corner but somehow the resilience of ordinary Russians made the seemingly impossible, possible. Lance Rogoff gives readers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the core values and beliefs that shaped Russia in the 1990s and continue to play out today in the horrific struggle between Putin's Russia and the West.--Bill Browder, American financier and bestselling author of Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice
