He was sentenced to death in USSR, but died in Jervis Bay many years later

One of the most compelling stories aired by SBS Russian was one of writer Pyotr Patrushev (1942 - 28 March 2016), who escaped the Soviet Union by swimming to Turkey across the Black Sea border in 1962. Later he became a broadcaster, journalist, conference interpreter and translator and worked for the BBC in London and Radio Liberty in Munich . As a top level Russian translator and interpreter he was a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters and Australian NAATI. Pyotr Patrushev interpreted for Russian and Australian Heads of State, Prime Ministers, Members of the Cabinet etc. He became a great friend of our program and the subject of the two interviews, later combined into this podcast, was mainly based on his book Sentenced to Death , published in English and in Russian. Pyotr also wrote Project Nirvana: How the Cold War Was Won and The Transcendent Ape, published posthumously Until his death , Pyotr Patrushev lived in Jervis Bay in the NSW with his wife and son

Source: Supplied

Pyotr Patrushev interpreting for John Howard and Vladimir Putin in Sydney 7 September 2007 Source: Supplied

Source: SBS