About us

Fontanka was established as the publishing partnership of Frank Althaus and Mark Sutcliffe in the early 2000s. Frank heads up the Russian Language Centre, the language school he founded in London over twenty years ago, whilst also working on Fontanka projects. Mark has been involved in publishing in Russia since the early 1990s when he first started working with the Hermitage Museum. He is a qualified Russian to English translator with the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, and has a PhD in Russian cultural history from UCL. 

Both Frank and Mark were awarded fellowships by the Likhachev Foundation, focused specifically on fostering cultural links between the UK and Russia. Fontanka also received a British Academy award to document oral histories of the Hermitage Museum. We work with a team of superb designers, editors, translators, proofreaders and indexers, ensuring maximum individual attention to each project. Our office is shared with the Russian Language Centre at Pushkin House – now firmly established as the preeminent focus for Russian cultural events in London – in Bloomsbury Square, close to the British Museum. 



Share by: