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| Source: Amazon.com |
From the book’s cover:
Russia is a country in transition. It is a land of exotic treasures with a culture rich in world-famous artists, writers and musicians. It is a swiftly modernizing economy yet still a place of corruption, suppression and secrecy, trying to shake off its recent, bloody past of Communist dictatorship. Russia may no longer be seen as a rival to America, but with control over a huge portion of the world’s non-renewable energy resources, it is a rapidly rising energy super-power. Yet, shrouded in myth and ice, it is little understood by the rest of the world.
Travelling thousands of miles, Jonathan journeys from Kaliningrad in the west to Provideniya in the east to discover modern Russia. Passing through some of the most extreme landscapes on Earth, several climates and seven time zones, he visits places “spectacular, infamous, secret” that witnessed defining moments in Russia’s extraordinary history. Caught between Asia and Europe, the people of this vast landmass are as diverse as the landscape they inhabit, their ethnic mix a product of Russian expansionism.
In his book and the television series it accompanies, Jonathan looks at how the past has shaped the present and attempts to explain what modern Russia means to her people now.
Synopsis:
Up front, let me say that I can't cover all the stuff that Mr. Dimbleby goes over in this book. There is simply too much. So I'll hit this from two directions. First, I'll re-emphasize what the book is about (if you hadn't already got that point from the book's cover material). Then I'll give a quick run-down of some of the topics covered (emphasis on some).
This book is a man's travelogue of his journey across Russia. Unless I misunderstood some mid-point details, the book is actually two journeys across Russia by the author. Dimbleby takes time to write quite a lot of prose about his trip. He isn't there for just personal enjoyment, but is on assignment for the BBC.
The point of the book is to get a clear perspective on what Russia is, and what Russia is not. All this primarily from the perspective of her many varied peoples. Russia, just like the United States but probably even more so, is a land of many varied people. Dimbleby gives the westerner a view into the nuances of culture, lifestyles, the various odd thoughts and actions, and ultimately (not that I mean to wax poetic or anything), the soul of the Russian populace.
As for a run-down of subjects covered, here is my attempt to take a dash at it. The book begins with a description of the bleak city Murmansk ( known in Tsarist times as "Romanov on the Mur"). He points out the coarse brutality of the place, and its residual Soviet-era feel. There is the interesting story which accompanies all this that involves World War II, the transport convoys to Murmansk, and the many British and Americans who died trying to bring supplies to the Soviet Union and keep it in the fight on the Eastern Front.
As an aside, I'm obviously not going to make my two paragraphs promise, but I do intend to move things along here. So bear with me. I'll try to speed it up a bit, if I can.
There is the story of the prototype Gulag on the island of Solovetsky (he also goes to Perm-36 later in the book, which was one of the infamous "medical" prisons of the Soviet era). Then there is a tale of Mr. Dimbleby's visit to the white witch of Karelia, who tells him of folk magic and temporarily cures him of back pain. It was cool, in a spooky sort of way.
There is a visit to some village or another, where a certain babushka takes a shine to him. Then an account of St. Petersburg, with the accompanying feeling that this great Eastern European city is somehow hollow. Dimbleby points out specifically the young women of the city, who are beautiful but seem somehow "like facsimiles," as he puts it.
Then there is some heavy stuff thrown in about Russia's government and the nature of democracy in the country. There is an interesting account about the office of the BBD (I think that was the acronym he gave), a British-owned news agency in Russia, where the resident Russian journalists speak of the corruption of the system, and the fact that the Kremlin is even more powerful in Putin's Russia than it was during the Soviet period. They tell Dimbleby about the status of bribes in post-Soviet Russia, and go on to explain how they had never given bribes on behalf of their business interests, but for personal matters, they had done so in order to get along in a system where graft is endemic.
A fascinating early tale in the book is Dimbleby's reflection on his meeting with Gorbachev in the mid-1980s, and the journalist's feelings about that particular opportunity. Then in stark contrast comes a trip to a bath house. The place is a hangout for oligarchs (the movers and shakers in Russia who in some cases have ties to organized crime, and in all cases are those who have figured out how to use capitalism to gain great wealth while the common citizens of the failed Soviet state suffer in poverty) and Dimbleby talks about the "protection" (see Goons) they keep outside, while they do business inside. He even gets a birch branch swat-down by one of these bigwigs. For those who don't know, a birch flogging is a common practice in a Russian bath house, and is said to promote circulation and general well-being.
Whew... Ok, that's enough. I could go on for quite a bit longer, giving details of the author's account of his trip(s?). But suffice it to say, there is a lot of ground covered - literally - and the stories are, for the most part, fascinating. It's not without its flaws, mind you, but for someone who is terrifically interested in Russia, past and present, I found it to be worth my time. But I've only covered about a third of the book in this synopsis so far, and certainly killed my two paragraph rule in the process. If you want to know the rest, you'll have to read the book. But read the rest of my review, before you undertake the journey. I may be able to set you on a proper course before your departure, that is. At least I hope so. We aim to please, after all.
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| The author, Jonathan Dimbleby / Source: BBC.Co.Uk |
What I liked about it:
The travelogue nature of Russia: A Journey is fascinating. And the author's habit of bringing himself into the story made it more human. His gift as a writer, and as a describer of the world around him, is well developed.
One quote stood out as I was going over the things I liked and jotting down notes. There is a particular quote Dimbleby gives about Russian drivers and how they seem to believe in the idea of "Die today, for tomorrow you may live." He even mentions, and I'll keep this in mind if I ever get to Russia, that the chances of getting killed in a motor vehicle accident are the number one concern for foreigners. Not Chechnyan terrorists or faulty construction practices, or even organized crime violence, or food poisoning (though all could potentially happen). Car crashes.
I found especially the material he puts in about the state of democracy in Russia to be fascinating. I liked the perspective that you come away with regarding the Russian people's overwhelming view of democracy and its future in their nation. Though Dimbleby from time to time annoyed me on his focus on this subject, I can appreciate the effort put in. And I'd say that his findings seem to say that the Russian people don't respect or desire democracy as it is known in the West.
The book's concluding chapter is the strongest indication of the problems of democracy in Russia today. Dimbleby speaks of traveling to Vladivostok, that great city of the Russian Far East, where the people seem to be happier and more enlightened than most other places in that vast country than he had yet encountered. He spoke to some young people there, and after having a pleasant conversation with them about their hopes and dreams for both their own futures and the future of their nation, was horrified to discover that they, like so many others he had encountered, were convinced that the high levels of nationalism and strongman tactics of Vladimir Putin were what was best for Russia. No desire to have a free vote, no interest in the will of the people, but only the wish that Russia be strong and be taken seriously by the world. It is much the same in other parts of Russia as well. They seem to be willing to embrace another Stalin, despite their knowledge that he was the murderer of millions. Many seem not to care, or dismiss the figures as being erroneous.
If a nation of Russia's great size, resources, and former superpower status which has now fallen to ultra-nationalism to the point of near 1930s Germany fanaticism (and this he postulated himself, but didn't want to go too far into the ramifications of such an observation, for obvious reasons) , that should scare the living hell out of anyone who really thinks about it. If we thought the Soviets were bad, this new Russia could be so much worse for everyone, East and West alike.
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| The book notes that Nikita Khrushchev once opined that the then-closed city of Vladivostok would someday be the San Francisco of the Russian Far East. Personally, from Dimbleby's descriptions and from what I saw after Google Image searching it, I'd like to go there. But then I want to go to Russia anyway, so that's like saying you'd like to visit London if you want to go to Great Britain. / Source: En.Rian.Ru |
What I didn’t like about it:
Well, in particular, I didn't care for his mini-dissertation on Tolstoy. The historical information was interesting, and he made some quite astute and even poetic points about the great Russian writer, but the break away into this tribute to Tolstoy seemed out of place when compared to the rest of his musing. I could have done without most of that part, to be honest.
Also, and it is sad to say, but the length of the book was an issue. I was only able to rationally put half the book's summary in my synopsis, not because it was hard to cover so much ground, but because Dimbleby covers so much. A full synopsis of topics covered would take several more very detailed paragraphs. This is both a good thing, and a bad thing. I put it here as a negative because... well I realize Russia is a big place, and there is much to discuss about it, but I think the author could have avoided waxing quite so eloquent in a few places (the aforementioned section on Tolstoy comes to mind) and cut to the chase a bit more. But as things go, this is not a fatal flaw for the book. Just made it hard to get through at times. And it has made this review just that much harder to finish. I actually read The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, after this book and I Am Ozzy too (that review will come shortly - watch for it), but here it is weeks later and I'm still trying to get it done and under the door, so to speak.
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| Not surprisingly, Russia is home to many of the world's most powerful icebreakers. If most of your coastline was sheathed in pack ice for a good portion of the year, you'd probably get good at building them too. / Source: WorldNuclearNews.org |
What I learned, if anything:
I learned a lot about the state of affairs in Russia today. In fact, even though I disparage the length of the book, I must say that I found the breadth and depth of it to be helpful in getting a better grip on what the place is really like. You know, for those of us who can't just pick up and go over. Wish I could, but the "Send Wong to Russia" fund is bereft of cash. Just like every other part of Wong's bank account. Poverty in America, huh? You can be relatively well off and still worry about money all the time. Puts Russia into perspective though. Most of them have nothing, comparatively speaking. It does make me glad I'm not there. Unless I was a well bankrolled tourist, or well paid by some oligarch. I'd work for an oligarch! Sounds cool. Any oligarchs want a personal historian? Anxious and willing, that describes me. And pretty cheap, as historians go. Just comment on my post and we'll talk (yes, I'm rambling again... sorry).
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| A rare smile from Mr. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia. Dimbleby points out that Putin seems to bring much of his Soviet-era job with him, that of a KGB bureaucrat. Still, the guy isn't quite as bad as Joseph Stalin. And not a buffoon, as Yeltsin turned out to be, unfortunately. But still, Russia under Putin is a dangerous and unpredictable animal. / Source: Forbes.com |
Recommendation:
Yes, I'd recommend this book. It is a bit long, and the topics covered are sometimes dry, and sometimes horrific (the stuff on Stalingrad during World War II made me feel a touch of the bitterness that the citizens of that city still carry today). On the other hand, it is full of personal touches, and doesn't skimp when it comes to seeing the sights. I wish I could have included so many more things in this review, as there is a lot for the potential reader to experience.
If you have the slightest interest in Russia and it's near-past/present, Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People would be worth your time.
Learn more about Russia: A Journey to the Heart of a Land and its People, by Jonathan Dimbleby, on Amazon.com
The parting comment:
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| Source: LolSnaps.com |
Not a sign from Russia, per-se, but based on Dimbleby's book, it wouldn't seem out of place. But to be honest, if I ran a business and had money enough not to worry, I'd hang a shingle out that would read quite similarly. America's Puritan work-ethic can be a bit of a drag sometimes, ya know?
Kinda like where I work; but our sign should say, 'By Appointment Only, Walk-ins Welcome' ;) JK
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