John Helmer (born 1946) is an Australian-born journalist and foreign correspondent based in Moscow, Russia since 1989.About the author: John Helmer, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. He has been described as the "longest-serving western correspondent in Moscow"... "specializing in the coverage of Russian business for media in London, New York, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Johannesburg".Visiting speaker seminar, John Helmer, University of Melbourne, exeter.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2025.

Biography Born and raised in Australia, Helmer attended the University of Melbourne and was one the editors of the student magazine Farrago in the early 1960s.Profiel: John Helmer, umsu.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 25 September 2025. He graduated from Melbourne with honours bachelor's degree and then with an A.M. and Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in the United States. In 1974 he was senior association at the Research Centre for Economic Planning in New York City.John Helmer, Bringing the war home the american soldier in vietnam and after, archive.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Until 1977 he was a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Melbourne and that year he was appointed as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at George Washington University."The Connection between Narcotics and Crime", Journal of Drug Issues, Vol. 7, No. 4, p. 405. Retrieved 25 September 2025. He was an advisor to the Jimmy Carter administration. In 2013 he was "visiting professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Melbourne". Helmer was based in Moscow since 1989 and, from there, worked for Australian Financial Review, The Australian and other newspapers. In 2012 he returned to Australia where he taught investigative journalism at the Centre for Advanced Journalism in the University of Melbourne.Profile: John Helmer, umsu.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 26 September 2025.

He published several books on military and political topics, including essays on the American presidency and on urban policy in the US and essays on Greek, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern politics and foreign policy. Since 1989 he has published almost exclusively on Russian topics.Bio, johnhelmer.net. Retrieved 25 September 2025.John Helmer carefully analyzes recent Trump and Russian counter-threats and concludes that we are escalating closer to nuclear war, paulcraigroberts.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025.

Allegations Yuri Shvets alleged Helmer was recruited by the KGB in the 1980s when he left to live in Russia permanently. Victor Cherkashin said that Helmer was unaware that Shvets was a KGB officer, and that Cherkashin himself called Shvets off. Later, after Shvets' concerns attracted controversy, Cherkashin confirmed that Helmer was not an agent.Cherkashin, Victor, and Gregory Feifer (2005). Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer—The True Story of the Man who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. Basic Books. pp. 272–273.

Writing in the New Jersey Star Ledger, journalist Dave D'Alessandro described Helmer as, "the journalist residing in Moscow who has been a pebble in Mikhail Prokhorov’s shoe since oligarchs have been collecting their billions under the protection of a corrupt, Fascist state.... the kind of journalist who turns up dead once a month or so inside Putin's Russia." And also as, "a fascinating and talented fellow, if not a fair bit over the top in his pursuit of truths."

Personal life He was married to Australian journalist and foreign correspondent Claudia Wright who died in 2005.J. Michael Waller, Strategic Influence: Public Diplomacy, Counterpropaganda, and Political Warfare, page 167 He was later married to Titiana (Tatiana). Vasilievna Turitsyna.Supreme Court of Victoria Order: Helmer v The Coroners Court of Victoria [2025 VSC 235 (2 May 2025)], gale.com, 2 May 2025. Retrieved 25 September 2025.

Helmer is the nephew of Zelman Cowen.

Selected works Books Urbanman : The Psychology of Urban Survival, New York: The Free Press, 1973 (joint editors: John Helmer and Neil A. Eddington)Urbanman : the psychology of urban survival, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Urban Residential Street Study : Preliminary Report , South Melbourne: John Paterson Urban Systems, 1974, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Drug Use, the Labor Market and Class Conflict, Washington, DC: Drug Abuse Council, 1974Drug use, the labor market and class conflict, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. The Deadly Simple Mechanics of Society, New York: Seabury Press, 1974 (Continuum Book series)The Deadly Simple Mechanics of Society, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Bringing the War Home : The American Soldier in Vietnam and After, New York: The Free Press, 1974Bringing the war home : the American soldier in Vietnam and after, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Drugs and Minority Oppression, New York: Seabury Press, 1975 (Continuum Book series)Drugs and Minority Oppression, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025. The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia, 2018The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia by John Helmer, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025.The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. The Lie That Shot Down MH17, 2020The Lie That Shot Down MH17, 2020, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025.The Lie That Shot Down MH17 by John Helmer, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025."Connecting the dots on MH17", dailyexpress.com.my. Retrieved 13 December 2024. (joint authors: Max van der Werff, Liane Theuerkauf and Sam Bullard) Sovcomplot: How Kremlin Pirates Tried to Capture the Treasure of the Russian Seas, and were Caught Out, 2020Sovcomplot: How Kremlin pirates tried to capture the treasure of the Russian seas, and were caught out by John Helmer, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025., amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Skripal in Prison, Dancing Bear, 2020Skripal in prison, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025.Skripal in Prison, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. The Jackals' Wedding: American Power, Arab Revolt, 2022. Joint author: Claudia Wright.The Jackals' Wedding: American Power, Arab Revolt by John Helmer, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025.The Jackals' Wedding: American Power, Arab Revolt, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Dunce Upon A Time: Autobiography of Mistakes, 2023Dunce Upon A Time: Autobiography of Mistakes, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Long Live Novichok! The British Poison which Fooled the World, 2025Long Live Novichok! The British Poison which Fooled the World, goodreads.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025.Long Live Novichok!: The British poison which fooled the world, amazon.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025. Der Nawalny-Novitschok-Komplex: Chronik einer Inszenierung, Dannenberg: Der Politikchronist e.V., 2025Der Nawalny-Novitschok-Komplex: Chronik einer Inszenierung, worldcat.org. Retrieved 25 September 2025.

Articles "John Helmer: Support for Ukraine's Pro-war Parties Keeps Plunging", Kyiv Post, 19 September 2014

References

Further reading D'Alessandro, Dave (10 January 2010). "Weekend Reading Assignment: A Russian Tale." NJ.com. Taibbi, Matt (12 January 2010). "The Near Assassination of John Helmer?" Rolling Stone. Archived from the original.

External links Dances With Bears (johnhelmer.net) - official website Profile: John Helmer on Farrago, 12 October 2012 Ray McGovern & John Helmer: The Death of an Empire: Iran Could Finish What Others Started, 19 June 2025, youtube.com