Letters from the White North: On To Moscow

 


By Richard Hardenburg

British Salmoa Times Correspondent – Bureau, Istanbul, Turkey

As I write this dispatch from Istanbul, one thought weighs heavily on me: for each of us—no matter our wealth, title, or trade—there comes a moment when we must choose a lane. Such choices can change a life; sometimes, they end one. The events of the past three days in this restless city are living proof.

At dawn, I watched the sun climb above the Bosphorus from my room at the Marriott. The air was clean and new, but my thoughts were not. In that first light, I asked myself: What is a correspondent? The answer felt larger than words, larger than print. It was a quiet pulse that filled my chest, an echo from those who came before us.

Across every age, it was the recorders—the witnesses—who preserved the words and deeds that shaped humanity’s belief and destiny. Without them, the story of who we are might have been lost to silence.

Today, that duty has not changed. We are still bound to the truth, to hold power in the light, to speak when it would be safer not to. It is a heavy obligation, but the only one worth carrying. History has shown more than once that the printed word can bring down walls, expose deceit, and remind the powerful that someone is watching.

The mission that brought us to Europe—the Severnaya Zemlya Expedition—has not escaped trial. My colleague Steve Williams, whose life was saved by extraordinary hands, has been ordered home to Canada for further medical care. His absence will be deeply felt.

As for me, I have sought counsel from my family and drawn strength from their belief in what we do. With their blessing, I will continue. In the early hours of November 6th, 2025, Dr. Marino and I will board our connecting flight to Moscow, where I will go on writing—perhaps not fearlessly, but faithfully—the truth.

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