The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Since then and with the advent of the internet and the digital age, Russia has had more and more access to learning magic from the rest of the world. But this week we take a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, to see how Russians learn magic when there are few brick and mortar magic shops, few opportunities for restaurant workers, learning from (mostly) English magic books, and the market for birthday party and wedding magicians, restaurant workers and trade show performers. FISM Champion, Artem Shchukin candidly shares his journey from the circus to the FISM competition.

Artem speaks frankly about how he learned magic from his traveling circus family in Russia then later during lock-down in South Korea and how he developed an award winning, creative magic act. He also answers my probing questions about some of the mysteries in Russia and how people find work as a magician there. For the most part, magic, like many other things, is still kept secret in Russia with little sharing nor congregating at clubs and conventions. Magic is still considered a hobby and not a contributing art to the communal (or Communist) way of life.

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