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Integrity, Optimism, and Empathy
Odyssey Moscow is a riveting and brutally honest memoir that chronicles your harrowing arrest and imprisonment in Russia following a business dispute gone dangerously political. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Writing Odyssey Moscow was cathartic. After living through such an intense and surreal ordeal—being unjustly arrested, imprisoned, and isolated—I needed to make sense of what happened, both for myself and for those closest to me. It became especially important to me that my children, when they’re older, could read this and understand the values I tried to live by: integrity, optimism, and empathy, even under impossible circumstances. It was also my way of honoring the people who helped me survive—my family, my friends, and the men of Cell 604. Their decency and courage in the darkest of times deserve to be remembered.
How did you balance the need to be honest and authentic with the need to protect your privacy and that of others in your memoir?
I wanted to be candid and transparent, because I felt a responsibility to tell the truth—not just about what happened to me, but about the broader system that enabled it. At the same time, I was deeply aware of the risks others faced. In some cases, I deliberately anonymized details, not to obscure the truth, but to protect individuals who didn’t choose to be part of this story. Honesty and concern for the safety of others had to go hand in hand.
What was the most challenging part of writing your memoir, and what was the most rewarding?
The hardest part was reliving it. Each chapter forced me back into the fear, confusion, and emotional strain of those months. There were times I considered putting the project aside entirely. But what kept me going was the encouragement I received from those I trust—especially my wife, Julia, who not only supported me throughout my imprisonment, but later helped shape the book with wisdom and clarity. The most rewarding part? Without a doubt, it’s knowing that this story might offer others courage. If someone going through a crisis reads Odyssey Moscow and finds even a sliver of hope, or a reason to stay true to their values, then it’s all been worth it.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
If there’s one thing I hope people take away, it’s that even while Russia’s regime and justice system should be condemned, we should have sympathy and admiration for average Russian people. They are the main victims of that system. The courage and resilience of my cellmates was inspiring, but the courage of other Russians who stood up for me and helped me to obtain freedom is also something for which I’m deeply grateful.
Author Website
Odyssey Moscow: One American’s Journey from Russia Optimist to Prisoner of the State
Michael Calvey’s Odyssey Moscow is a riveting and brutally honest memoir that chronicles his harrowing arrest and imprisonment in Russia following a business dispute gone dangerously political. Framed around his 2019 detention on charges of fraud, Calvey recounts the Kafkaesque nightmare of navigating the Russian criminal justice system with gripping detail and a surprising amount of grace. Part prison diary, part corporate thriller, and part philosophical reflection, the book explores power, corruption, and survival with uncommon vulnerability.
Calvey doesn’t hide behind business-speak or self-pity. From the first pages, where he’s ripped from his Moscow apartment by FSB agents, his voice is calm but charged with disbelief and raw emotion. I found myself holding my breath as he described his first night in a cramped cell, trying to keep it together while one cellmate shows off his biceps and the other does endless push-ups. The contrast between Calvey’s former life—Loro Piana shirt, Harvard degree—and the grimness of Matrosskaya Tishina is jarring, and he never once lets us forget how surreal and dehumanizing that shift is.
The book’s real power, though, comes from the way Calvey makes space for others. He doesn’t just tell his story; he lets in the lives of Sasha, Ildar, Dmitry, and others—cellmates, guards, lawyers—each rendered with empathy, even humor. I found myself unexpectedly moved by his relationship with Sasha, a streetwise repeat offender who gifts him molasses cookies and prison wisdom. Even when he’s describing psychological warfare—like the endless sirens and the lights that never shut off—Calvey never descends into bitterness. There’s real introspection here. He wonders what it means to have championed Russia for decades, only to be betrayed by the very system he believed in.
Still, there are moments that made me fume. The scene in the courtroom where the Vostochny Bank security chief films Calvey, giggling as if it were a show, is infuriating. Even more galling is how the Russian court system appears as a hollow formality—the “glass cage,” the parade of character witnesses, the judge who seems moved but ultimately rubber-stamps the FSB’s orders. Yet Calvey keeps his cool. He channels his rage into logic, into planning, into fighting back—not with violence, but with integrity and relentless clarity. That was inspiring.
In the end, Odyssey Moscow isn’t just about one man’s legal battle—it’s about holding onto your values when everything around you crumbles. Calvey never pretends to be perfect. He admits to fear, to pain, to moments of despair. But he also shows us resilience in the most literal sense. I finished the book feeling humbled, a little shaken, but also strangely hopeful. This book is for anyone who enjoys true stories about endurance, justice, and moral courage.
Pages: 291 | ASIN : B0DY5PR2ZM
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