A Journey into Russia (Hardcover)

When Jens Muhling met Juri, a Russian TV producer selling stories about his homeland, he was mesmerised by what he heard. The real Russia was more unbelievable than anything that could be invented. The encounter changed Muhling s life, triggering a number of journeys to the Ukraine and deep into the Russian heartland on a quest for the stories of ordinary and extraordinary people.

Away from the bright lights of Moscow, Muhling meets and befriends a Dostoevskian cast of characters: a hermit from the Taiga who has recently discovered there s a world beyond the woods; a Ukrainian Cossack who defaces the statue of Lenin in central Kiev; a priest who insists on returning to Chernobyl to preach to the stubborn few determined to remain in the exclusion zone.

"A Journey into Russia" is a revealing glimpse into the Russian soul. Muhling s empathy unveils a country whose contradictions, attractions and absurdities are still largely unknown to many people outside her borders.

" When German journalist Jens Mühling met Juri, a Russian television producer selling stories about his homeland, he was mesmerized by what he heard: the real Russia and Ukraine were more unbelievable than anything he could have invented. The encounter changed Mühling's life, triggering a number of journeys to Ukraine and deep into the Russian heartland on a quest for stories of ordinary and extraordinary people. Away from the bright lights of Moscow, Mühling met and befriended a Dostoevskian cast of characters, including a hermit from Tayga who had only recently discovered the existence of a world beyond the woods, a Ukrainian Cossack who defaced the statue of Lenin in central Kiev, and a priest who insisted on returning to Chernobyl to preach to the stubborn few determined to remain in the exclusion zone.