Christoph Neidhart

Christoph Neidhart (born May 25, 1954 in Basel ) is a Swiss journalist and author who became known through his many years of activity as a correspondent for the Russian-Scandinavian-Baltic region and for East Asia . He has also published several successful non-fiction books with country portraits.

Life and career

Christoph Neidhart studied mathematics , physics and photography for four semesters at the University of Basel . He then studied veterinary medicine , completing the pre-clinical part in Freiburg im Üechtland and then continuing his studies at the University of Zurich , where he graduated with the state examination. Inspired by these opportunities to “look at the world from different perspectives”, he began writing book reviews and writing on scientific topics while still studying veterinary medicine , including for Die Zeit and Das Magazin .

After completing his studies, he embarked on a journalistic and journalistic career and initially worked as a freelancer, including for Swiss radio DRS , the cultural department of Deutschlandfunk and the science department of Swiss television . From 1985 to 1997 he worked for the Swiss weekly magazine Die Weltwoche in various positions, including as a reporter in Eastern Europe and the USSR , as a Moscow office manager and as a correspondent in Saint Petersburg . From 1990 to 1997 Neidhart lived mostly in Moscow and reported on Russia , Eastern Europe and Scandinavia . He processed his experiences in his book Ostsee. The sea in our midst , which first appeared in 2003.

He also wrote articles on cultural and scientific topics for various magazines and newspapers such as Die Zeit and the Süddeutsche Zeitung . In addition, from 1989 to 1991 he worked for the magazine TransAtlantik, which was co-founded by Hans Magnus Enzensberger .

After spending seven years in Russia, he worked as a visiting scholar at the Davis Center for Russian Studies at Harvard University in the USA from 1997 to 2001 , from which, among other things, his 2003 book Russia's carnival. The smells, sights, and sounds of transition results. During this time he continued to write articles for various print media such as Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) , NZZ Folio , Das Magazin and du .

In 2002 Neidhart went to Tokyo as a correspondent and initially reported for Die Weltwoche on Japan , the People's Republic of China and North and South Korea . Since July 2007 he has been the correspondent responsible for Japan and South Korea for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Tages-Anzeiger . In addition, he writes journalistic articles and comments for other media.

Neidhart has been working as a freelance journalist for many years and has written numerous essays on political and sociological topics as well as reviews , travel reports and reports . In addition, he has now published several non-fiction books as well as contributions to other book editions. His journalistic work, especially from the East Asian region, is evaluated by several universities and some are kept in the library, for example at the University of Zurich.

Neidhart is regarded as an “internationally renowned expert on Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic States” as well as a committed reporter from East Asian countries (“exceptional journalistic achievements”) and has already received several awards for his work.

Christoph Neidhart is married and has a daughter with his wife. He lives in Tokyo with his family.

Awards

• 2007: Alstom Journalist Award - for the article showing the rivers the way in the NZZ on May 27, 2006
• 1998: Zurich Journalist Prize
• 1988: Zurich Journalism Prize

Publications (selection)

Fiction

• Museum of Light. Petersburg loved ones . Edition Isele , Eggingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86142-486-4 .

Non-fiction

• The children of Confucius. What makes East Asia so successful . Orig.-Edition, Verlag Herder , Freiburg im Breisgau 2008 (= Herder-Spektrum; 3006), ISBN 978-3-451-03006-2 .
• Baltic Sea. The sea in our midst . Ext. New edition, 1st edition, marebuchverlag , Hamburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-86648-054-4 .
• The noodle. A cultural story with a bite . Deuticke Verlag , Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-552-06042-5 .
• Russia's Carnival. The Smells, Sights, and Sounds of Transition . Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Lanham (Maryland / USA) 2003, ISBN 0-7425-2041-2 . (English)
• After the collapse. The former Soviet republics . Diogenes Verlag , Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-257-01964-5 .
• A powerful country father . In: Werner Adam (ed.): An empire is breaking up. Reports on the fall of the Soviet Union . IMK in the publishing group Frankfurter Allg. Newspaper, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-927282-14-6 .
• Andrei Amalrik's Guide to the Fall of the Soviet Union. A historical document . Epilogue to the new German edition (from 1992) by: Andrei Alexejewitsch Amalrik : Can the Soviet Union see the year 1984? Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 1992 (= Diogenes-Taschenbuch; 20005), ISBN 3-257-20005-6 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Christoph Neidhart in the catalog of the German National Library
• Short biography and reviews of works by Christoph Neidhart at perlentaucher.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} See biographical information about Christoph Neidhart at the ALSTOM journalist award (see web links).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Cf. biographical information about Christoph Neidhart at the German Society for Natural and Ethnological East Asia (OAG) from April 2009 (see web links).
3. ↑ Noodles on Camels: Globalization, explained differently ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article by Annelies Seelhofer-Brunner in the internet magazine infowilplus.ch from March 15, 2009 (last accessed : June 25, 2009). 
4. ↑ Authors: >> Christoph Neidhart ( Memento of the original dated July 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Record of 165 articles in the Swiss weekly magazine Die Weltwoche (last accessed: June 25, 2009). 
5. ↑ See http://www.writers.net/writers/897 .
6. ↑ Proof of 11 titles for Neidhart, Christoph  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at IDS Zurich University (last accessed June 25, 2009).  
7. ↑ Baltic Sea, the sea in our midst >> Information about Christoph Neidhart  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Review by Matthias Brück from November 21, 2003 (last accessed June 25, 2009).  
8. ↑ ^{a b} Christoph Neidhart, (...) awarded the ALSTOM Journalist Prize 2007  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release of May 3, 2007 at www.alstompreis.ch (last accessed : June 25, 2009).