A real good, easy to follow account of what it took to get the Russian version of Sesame Street on to Russian TV in the early 1990's. The author was the Producer of the show (she also produced the Mexican version of the show) & she tells about having to work around political issues, assassinations, money/funding issues, the set & puppets to be developed, cultural differences & all the travel involved. A lot of history kind of tags along in the telling of this story, & I really enjoyed that aspect. We also get a window into what was happening in the author's personal life at the same time that she was getting the Russian Sesame Street going.....& that too is interesting! The title of the book is perfect. This is a very interesting, easy to read non fiction book.........& it was interesting all the way to the end, when the author talks about a return visit to Russia in January 2020....& she reflects on all the changes that have happened there. I can easily recommend this book to anyone!
I received an e-ARC of the book from publisher Rowman & Littlefield via NetGalley in return for reading it & posting my own fair/honest review.

Muppets in Moscow is part memoir, part political expose. As someone who was very young during the time described in the book, it was wonderful to have a personal account of events in America and Russia during that time, and especially to have it all tied together with something as universal as muppets.

Rogoff tells of the path to getting a Russian version of Sesame Street produced in the wreckage of the post-Soviet era. Rife with corruption, miscommunication, cultural misunderstandings, and assassinations, it was a bumpy and circuitous process. This book made me tense with worry for the production throughout, even though I knew it was eventually a success. A very good read.

What a bizarre and riveting story that is so strange it must be true. Rogoff charts the ups and downs of bringing Sesame Street to Russia and if this doesn't become a Netflix miniseries at some point, someone is dropping the ball. A great read for TV fans and Muppet fans alike.

Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield Publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Natasha Lance Rogoff presents an unvarnished view of the ups and downs involved with developing a Russian adaptation of Sesame Street in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. For me, it was a little bit difficulty to get emotionally invested in the book because almost the entire first third of the book felt like their actions were an exercise in futility. They experienced one roadblock or set-back after another, and to be honest, reading about it was fairly discouraging. However, I realize that that was a very real part of the process, and without understanding the difficulties that they experienced, the ultimate success of the project would not have felt so joyful or celebratory.

Rogoff does an excellent job providing cultural translations of sorts to explain the reasoning behind different mindsets and approaches that were held by prospective collaborators in Russia. Without such context, this book could have easily come off as a kind of American-savior narrative in which the Russian artists were simply obstinate personalities that needed to be conquered. Instead, by providing a glimpse into the history of Russian culture, education, and artistic endeavors, the reader has the opportunity to consider the unique challenge in merging two such divergent perspectives into an educational television show for Russian children in a new era.

Muppets in Moscow was a fascinating recollection of the tumultuous effort to create a Russian version of Sesame Street. Immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, America jumped on the opportunity to bring Sesame Street to Russia to help impart democratic values to the struggling nation. But what followed was years of deals falling through, station raids, assassinations, and cultural differences.
This is a first hand account, written by the executive producer of the show. And it could not come at a more appropriate time.

I'd never considered Big Bird to be controversial. I'd never considered Elmo to be politically charged. I may never be able to see them as universally beloved again. This riveting story of trying to bring Sesame Street to Russia was eye-opening, astounding, and engrossing. I couldn't put it down.

Natasha Lance Rogoff's memoir about creating the Russian edition of Sesame Street (Ulitsa Sezam) brilliantly reflects the numerous challenges and dangers (cultural conflicts, business dealings, and even assassinations) that she and her staff faced during the early days of post-communist Russia. The deep connections she was able to make with her Russian colleagues were undoubtedly life-changing and moving, and her epilogue about the enormous success of Ulitsa Sezam and its ultimate demise is bittersweet and heartbreaking.

A must read for readers drawn to books about modern Russian history, memoirs about working in the entertainment industry, and all things Muppets.

Many thanks to Rowman & Littlefield and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a unique and interesting story. Full review to come in time for the book publication date!

As a lifelong fan of The Muppets and Sesame Street, the title and cover instantly called to me. Thankfully, Logoff’s account of the difficult journey of bringing Sesame Street to Russia is highly entertaining. She describes the unexpected roadblocks she faced at nearly every step in the process— everything from the attempted assassination of a potential investor to the frustration over convincing Russian colleagues of the importance of using Bert, Ernie, and the rest of the American muppets instead of traditional Russian puppets. The writing is casual and accessible, reading more like fiction than non-fiction.

Ultimately, MUPPETS IN MOSCOW is about working hard, believing in something, and refusing to give up— all values the Muppets try to teach us.

Rowman and Littlefield will be releasing this book on October 15, 2022; I was able to read an early galley in exchange for this review.

As a child of the 70's, I grew up on the original seasons of Sesame Street. Therefore, the subject matter of this book was very intriguing to me. I found myself instantly captivated by Lance Rogoff's story. She presents the details of launching Ulitsa Sezam, the Russian version of the popular children's television show, in a refreshing and engaging way; at times, it was almost like reading fiction.

She does a wonderful job illustrating the cultural differences between America and Russia. With examples throughout the development process, she explains clearly to the readers how something that would work in one place would not translate as easily into the other. She also shows how she had to navigate in Russia as well as how her Russian team experienced their first brushes with American lifestyles.

Overall, Muppets In Moscow is a lesson of hope, cooperation and perseverance. These are exactly the types of things I had learned from the original Sesame Street as a child.

Natasha Lance Rogoff's "Muppets in Moscow" documents an endeavor that would sadly be impossible in today's geopolitical climate but just some 20 years ago was reality - bringing one of the most beloved American children shows, Sesame Street, to post-Cold War Russia. Over the course of several years, an tragic handful of assassinations, and the lurking but unnamed shadow of Vladimir Putin, Rogoff recounts first-hand her herculean efforts at bringing 123 Sesame Street to Russian audiences, culminating in a gala premiere of the show's first season. Along the way, she fought to bend but not break on the ideals of empathy, cooperation, and learning through play that generations of children who can complete the lyrics to "Sunny Days" know all too well.

Her brief epilogue, the book's shortest chapter, comments on how the series fell out of political favor in 2010 when Putin fully consolidated power in the broadcasters, making the prospect of a fifth season untenable. Reading against the background of the war in Ukraine, the show's death was just another reminder of the backsliding executed by the Putin government.

In its subtitle, Muppets in Moscow promises “The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia”, and that’s exactly what author (and the television show’s original Executive Producer) Natasha Lance Rogoff delivers. As a young documentary filmmaker, Rogoff was stunned to be recruited by the Children’s Television Network and offered the opportunity to develop a Russian version of Sesame Street (“Ulitsa Sezam”), but as a Russophile who was fluent in the language and had some contacts in Moscow, she was seduced by the opportunity to bring a fun and educational show about Western-style empathy and cooperation to children raised behind the recently fallen Iron Curtain. No doubt a little naive about the challenges she would face, Rogoff’s story unspools in a series of shocks and roadblocks, and as this is also a memoir about the author’s personal and professional life, there is an engagingly intimate angle to the stakes. The writing could have been a bit more polished, but as an eyewitness account of what was probably the only liberalised window in which this kind of American-Russian co-production could have been pulled off, I found the whole thing fascinating.