Column Writing
Charles W. Holmes / Cox News Service (Moscow Bureau)

The tumultuous events in Russia in 1999 — the war in Chechnya, the continuing economic crisis, and the political turmoil of Boris Yeltsin and company — capped a decade of despair and propelled Russia toward a new era of uncertainty.

Throughout the year, Cox Newspapers Moscow Correspondent Charles W. Holmes offered readers insight beyond the news pages through his lively and perceptive columns.

His "Letters from Moscow" gave readers the facts and the feel of events shaping Russia, and their impact on relations with the United States. Holmes' work provided a unique window on a country that, nearly a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union, remains a distant and shadowy place for most Americans.

Holmes was Cox correspondent in Jerusalem in 1993-97 and in Moscow from 1997 to 2000. He since has rejoined the Washington Bureau to craft a new beat called "The changing face of America." It will track U.S. demographic, social and economic developments and cultural trends.

"So far, so good," Holmes said. "My stories seem to be appearing in the papers, which is always a good sign.

"It's really a process of rediscovering my own country. Andy Alexander and Ron Martin [Cox Newspapers executives] felt I could cast a pair of fresh eyes on America, having been gone from it for so long."

A native of Johnson City, Tenn., Holmes received a journalism degree from George Washington University and has been a Cox Newspapers' employee for 18 years.

His wife, Sarah Lindsey Holmes, is a former speechwriter and they have a daughter, Katherine.

Were the years overseas hard on his family?

"It was an adventure, let's put it that way," Holmes said. "Moscow was tougher than Jerusalem. My wife is a native of Florida, and the Russian winters were kind of difficult to bear, especially with a toddler. That was the kind of experience we wouldn't trade for anything, but we're glad we're here.