Description
Erika Fatland takes the reader on a journey that is unknown to even the most seasoned globetrotter. The five former Soviet republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. How have these countries developed since then?
In Kyrgyzstani villages, Erika Fatland meets victims of the widely known tradition of bride snatching; she visits the huge and desolate Polygon in Kazakhstan where the Soviet Union tested nuclear explosives; she meets Chinese shrimp gatherers on the banks of the dried-out Aral Sea and witnesses the fall of a dictator. She travels incognito through Turkmenistan, a country that is closed to journalists. She meets exhausted human rights activists in Kazakhstan, survivors from the massacre in Osh in 2010, and German Mennonites who found a paradise on the Kyrgyzstani plains 200 years ago. During her travels she observes how ancient customs clash with gas production and witnesses the underlying conflicts between ethnic Russians and the majority in countries that are slowly building their future in nationalist colours.
In these countries that used to be the furthest border of the Soviet Union, life follows another pace of time. Amidst the treasures of Samarkand and the bleakness of Soviet architecture, Erika Fatland moves with openness towards the people and the landscapes around her.
A rare and unforgettable travelogue.
Endorsements
"A mesmerising trip across Central Asia . . . A fascinating travelogue" — Financial Times
Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford/Lonely Planet Debut Travel Writer of the Year 2020.