Press
“A highly entertaining and readable new book, Muppets in Moscow, which recounts a litany of cultural clashes, wild west-style assassinations and dashed hopes about the post-communist era.”
—The Guardian
“In a sparkling memoir of the era and the enterprise, Muppets in Moscow, Natasha Lance Rogoff re-creates the frantic and vertiginous efforts to launch Ulitsa Sezam against what turned out to be tremendous headwinds.”
—Wall Street Journal
“In this hilarious, eye-opening memoir, an American TV producer recounts her adventures in bringing Bert, Ernie, Oscar, and friends, to post-Soviet Russian television in the mid-’90s.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“In this thrilling debut...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)
“Rogoff’s wild tale of producing the Russian version of Sesame Street (Ulitsa Sezam) in the early to mid-1990s is skillfully written and a joy to read…The tale of this collaboration between U.S. and Russian artists working toward a shared educational goal creates a very unique story that is important and timely.”
—Library Journal (Starred Review)
“The inspiring story of bringing Sesame Street to Russia…The book provides lessons for businesses on how to overcome cultural clashes.”
—Forbes
“A fascinating, and sometimes horrifying, look into the clash of cultures and political instability she had to deal with as executive producer of Ulitsa Sezam, the Russian version of the beloved American show.”
—The Daily Beast
There has been no shortage of journalistic books, memoirs and political analyses written by Russians and foreigners on the country in the 1990s, a time of great change and turmoil but also hope. Yet none is quite like this one. Muppets in Moscow is at least three stories woven into a single, readable tale.
― Financial Times
October 16th, 2022
Wall Street Journal
“Muppets in Moscow Review: ‘R’ Is For Russia”
Financial Times
January 7th, 2023
“Muppets in Moscow — the making of a post-Soviet Sesame Street”
October 18th, 2022
The Guardian
“Muppets in Moscow Review: the wild story behind Sesame Street in Russia”
April 28th, 2023
Times Literary Supplement
“Puppet Government”
April 24th, 2023
WGBH
“Stories from the Stage: “Never the Same”
October 17th, 2022
MSNBC Morning Joe
Natasha Lance Rogoff in conversation with Mika Brzezinski
May 7th, 2023
The Moscow Times
“How the Muppets Came to Moscow”
“How Russian soldiers stole a life-sized Elmo puppet when the Kremlin raided studios in bid to cancel Russia's Sesame Street... 15 years before 'Putin's people' finally pulled the plug on show”
Daily Mail
January 7th, 2023
November 29th, 2022
Forbes
“The Muppets Survive Russian Television”
November 6th 2022
The Daily Beast
“Sesame Street Turned Into a Rocky Road on Its Way Into Russia”
November 4th 2022
ABC News
“Muppets in Moscow Review: the wild story behind Sesame Street in Russia”
November 3rd 2022
The Boston Globe
“How a Russian version of ‘Sesame Street’ helped raise a generation”
October 15th 2022
New York Post
“The challenge of making ‘Sesame Street’ for Russians”
April 21st, 2023
‘Muppets in Moscow’ Recounts How Sesame Street Reached Red Square After the collapse of the Soviet Union”
THE NEW YORK SUN
October 14th 2022
Smithsonian Magazine
“The challenge of making ‘Sesame Street’ for Russians”
October 7th 2022
Foreword Reviews
“Muppets in Moscow Review”
September 1st 2022
Library Journal
“Muppets in Moscow” (Starred Review)
May 25th 2022
Publishers Weekly
Muppets in Moscow” (Starred Review )
October 17th 2022
Vulture
“Adapting Sesame Street for Russian TV — What Could Go Wrong?”
October 17th 2022
“‘No One Can Say No to Elmo.’ The Beginning of a Journey to Bring Sesame Street to Russia”
Literary Hub
January 3rd 2023
Project Syndicate
“Russian Muppets or American Muppets?”
November 6th 2022
NEWSWEEK
“Moscow's Muppets: How 'Sesame Street' Became a TV Hit in Post-Soviet Russia”
January 31st 2023
WCVB Channel 5 /ABC News
“Local authors publish thrilling Russian-based stories”
February 8th, 2023
November 17th 2023
C-SPAN’s Book TV
”Muppets in Moscow”
January 3rd 2023
The Spectator
“How the Muppets went to Moscow as ambassadors for democracy”
February 2nd 2023
The Jewish Chronicle
“Muppets in Moscow Book review: When Kermit and Miss Piggy went to the Kremlin”
February 2nd 2023
Chess Base
“Natasha Rogoff: Muppets in Moscow”