The author with friends

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1962, Gail Ford taught Geography, History and English in High Schools in her home city before going to teach in Montreal. She returned to Australia to take up a position at an Independent school in Melbourne and moved to Canberra on marrying in 1968. After a10-year break when her children were young she returned to teaching, specialising in Geography and developing senior courses in Media and Film studies.

A keen traveller, before heading for more familiar destinations in Europe and Asia, in 1967 Gail took herself around most of South America – an intrepid journey for a solo female traveller at the time. She later wrote the relevant section of a major Geography textbook. Gail has continued to travel widely, recent trips including Papua New Guinea and Japan, Syria and Iran, Poland and the Czech Republic, and Vietnam and Cambodia. Keen to share her experiences with others, she has arranged and led tours to Romania, Spain and Portugal, as well as those to Russia.

Gail’s interest in Russia grew in the mid 1980s as the Soviet Union (as it was then) became increasingly important in her various teaching areas. Intrigued by the changes taking place there, and with the hope of breaking down barriers between Australian and Russian students, in 1989 she organised and led a group from Canberra Girls’ Grammar School on a goodwill tour across the USSR.

Though fraught with problems, this trip was such a success in regard to student contacts and the understanding of another country, that Gail set up an exchange with schools in Moscow and Leningrad/St Petersburg, the only such programme between Australia and Russia. With the help of other staff members, every three years groups from the school went to live with families and attend classes, developing a great appreciation of and fondness for the people, as well as exploring Russia’s long history and great culture.

The first school exchange took place in September 1991, just one month after the fall of communism, a very moving time to be in the country, as its people lost the system in which many believed so strongly, and then the country of which they had been very proud. This program continued, with autumn school tours in 1994, 1997, and 2003, and a brave winter visit in 2000. These trips, especially in the early years, made a profound impression on the students, many developing close links with their hosts and re-thinking some of their priorities. As one student said, “I learned that what you own does not make you what you are”.

Gail has always had a keen interest in music and has sung in choirs for most of her life. Having heard many magnificent choral groups in Russia, in 1995 she took 25 adult choristers on a special music tour, a trip that developed into the Russian Arts Tours. Incorporating the country’s history and art, as well as its music, she led these tours annually until 2008.

In all, Gail visited Russia eighteen times over two decades of momentous upheaval, as the country changed from a Communist super-power to a capitalist democracy. She thus saw, not only first hand but also through the eyes of the many friends she made there, the great changes and difficulties the country underwent. These experiences and observation are the foundation for her book.

Gail has two sons, Hamish, a lecturer in film studies, and Alastair, who is a composer. She lives in Canberra.