Simon Pirani

Simon Pirani has recently (2018) completed his book Burning Up: A Global History of Fossil Fuel Consumption, combining his experience as a historian with his knowledge of energy issues. He is Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, where since 2007 he has been writing about natural gas markets in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries.

Simon previously worked as a journalist, writing about Russia and Ukraine, to which he has been travelling since 1990. Simon studied the social history of Russia in the years after the 1917 revolution, and in 2008 published a book on that subject, The Russian Revolution in Retreat: Soviet workers and the new communist elite, which was based on his PhD research. As well as writing widely in the Guardian, Observer, Financial News, Emerging Markets and many trade publications about the Russian and Ukrainian economies, he published a book, Change in Putin's Russia: Power Money and People, in 2010.

Simon lives in London. He has a lifelong involvement with the labour movement and campaigns for social justice. He is married with a daughter and two grandsons, and supports Charlton Athletic football club. More information at simonpirani.com.