Red Odyssey: A Journey Through the Soviet Republics - Hardcover

Akchurin, Marat

4.11

9 ratings by Goodreads

9780060183356: Red Odyssey: A Journey Through the Soviet Republics

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060183357 ISBN 13: 9780060183356

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1992

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A Soviet journalist leads readers on a tour of the outer provinces, from Kazakhstan to Turkemia

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From Kirkus Reviews:

The turbulent chronicle of an overland trip through six Moslem republics of the former USSR, undertaken by Uzbekistani poet/publisher Akchurin in mid-1990 as the Soviet state entered its final year. Leaving wife and home in Moscow, Akchurin drove southeast with a mechanic friend. Their first stop, in the Volga Basin, included a nightmarish encounter with one of the youth gangs raging out of control in that region, complete with brass knuckles and violence, near-rape and a daring escape. On difficult roads further south, the car was damaged, and the mechanic fled with it back to Moscow. Making full use of his Tartar heritage and a network of writer contacts, Akchurin pressed on, hitchhiking, taking trains and taxis, skirting the dying Aral Sea and passing through Turkestan, Alma-Ata, his former hometown of Tashkent, and other cities large and small before finally arriving in Baku. Along the way, the author found sickness and death among his friends, riots and massacres between formerly peaceful Kirghiz and Uzbek neighbors, and the temptations of a Barbie-doll-like state courtesan--as well as another close encounter with thugs in the form of demobilized, drunken soldiers. In the midst of such dangers and confusion, opportunities invariably arose to discuss the future of the Soviet Union, resurgent nationalism, or finer points of regional ancient history with fellow travelers and colleagues--resulting in this sophisticated travelogue of unique historical importance, a window on a region few modern Westerners have seen. Erudite and action-packed, poetic and personable: a must for anyone seeking an unadulterated view of life in the Central Asian republics, still being swept by change. (Thirty-five b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright �1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

In the spring of 1990 Akchurin, a former Soviet publisher and journalist, set out from Moscow on a 10,000-mile automobile trip across the non-Russian republics. Both an engrossing adventure and a savvy political commentary, this pungent, revelatory odyssey records an eruption of violence, ethnic conflict and repression in the crumbling empire. Born in Uzbekistan and now living in California, the author profiles a diverse gallery of people, from polygamous Turkmenistan nomads to besieged Kirghiz squatters to an easygoing Tadzhik guitar player whose infatuation with rock music brought tragedy to his clan. Akchurin contends that under Gorbachev the Soviet state reduced its citizens to slaves. He blames the civil war between Azerbaijan and Armenia largely on the Kremlin, which, he argues, manipulated nationalistic tendencies. This travelogue acerbically depicts the surreal nightmare of ordinary people struggling to survive.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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