Taking the case of an interview with Boris Yeltsin broadcast live on Swedish radio, the study examines the apparent difference between Yeltsin in the original Russian and the interpreter's version. The analysis explores a variety of divergences which can be seen in the discourse. It suggests that the interpreter's performance is affected first and foremost by the nature of the assignment and the communicative genre; by the conventions of 'news interview talk', by the journalist's way of asking questions and by conditions connected specifically to broadcast talk. The chapter demonstrates some analytical possibilities offered by an interactionistic approach to interpreter-mediated encounters, seeing the interpreter's efforts as related to a twofold task - that of translating and coordinating the other's talk in interaction. The investigation involves an examination of this text from the point of view of linguistic features and the sequential organization of interaction.