New York Times : Anatoly Kurmanaev Joins Mexico City Bureau

For readers of our International report, Anatoly Kurmanaev's name is already a very familiar one. He caught the world's attention by explaining how Venezuela's economic collapse became the worst in the world outside of war in decades - worse even than those in Zimbabwe or Cuba or after the fall of the Soviet Union.

He traveled deep into rebel-controlled territory to uncover how the crumbling Venezuelan state had surrendered large parts of the country to a terrorist organization. And he has shown, in article after article, how an oil-rich nation devolved from a powerful petrostate into a dystopian capitalist free-for-all where some shop, and others starve.

Now we are thrilled to tell you about Anatoly's next big adventure: He has joined our dynamic Mexico City bureau as a correspondent.

Anatoly's own experiences as a child prepared him well for this life.

He was born and raised in Novosibirsk, Siberia, where he rode the Transibirian Railroad to visit relatives across the vast expense of the fading Soviet Union. He then navigated Russia's chaotic shift to capitalism. His first experiences with the free market involved trading school lunch coupons for newly legalized rock cassettes, and recycling beer bottles left on the street. Living through the post-Soviet transition ignited a lifelong interest in the impact of economic forces on societies, which eventually led him to study political economy at Edinburgh University and University College London.

Anatoly began focusing on journalism during the evenings while working as a financial researcher in London, and he eventually reported from South America for a decade for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and others.

He spent most of his journalistic career in Venezuela, where he chronicled the country's collapse under President Nicolás Maduro. He reported from the opulent mansions of Venezuela's elite, the decaying skyscrapers of the nation's glory days and starving slums.

Anatoly now joins a talent-rich Mexico City bureau headed by Maria Abi-Habib, taking with him an enduring conviction that human dignity survives even the worst hardships.

When Anatoly covered a surprise treasure found at a remote, impoverished Venezuelan village, a man who had struggled to feed his children asked Anatoly to take his only valuable material possession, a pair of simple gold earrings he had found on the beach days earlier. 'Please tell the world we are telling the truth,' the man told him as he offered the jewelry. The words have stayed with Anatoly since, fueling his drive to keep documenting the truth, or to be more precise, the way people perceive it.

'Anatoly is funny, generous, dogged and exceedingly knowledgeable, always there with a source, an idea, a new way of seeing things,' said Julie Turkewitz, our Andes bureau chief. 'He is a pillar of the journalism community in Venezuela - deeply respected because he leads the narrative, and because he's so kind and helpful to other reporters. Working with him over the last year, I have come to think of him as the consummate New York Times colleague. We are very lucky to have him.'

Congratulations, Anatoly. And Julie, we agree. We are lucky to have him on our team.

- Michael, Greg and Juliana

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