Volga blues : a journey into the heart of Russia / Marzio G. Mian ; translated from the Italian by Elettra Pauletto ; photographs by Alessandro Cosmelli.
| Author/creator | Mian, Marzio G. author. |
| Other author | Pauletto, Elettra, translator. |
| Other author | Cosmelli, Alessandro, 1972- photographer. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First American edition. |
| Publication | New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, 2026. |
| Copyright Date | ©2026 |
| Description | xii, 289 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Uniform title | Volga blues. English http://id.loc.gov/resources/hubs/f4f050d8-113c-ee3d-f254-e3056c29d44e |
| Portion of title | Journey into the heart of Russia |
| Contents | Part one: Passionarnost ; 1. The abbess at the source: "God does not suffer cowards" ; 2. The evil stepmother: "Death explains it all" ; 3. The philologist of the dead city: "The past is unpredictable" -- Part two: Smuta: time of troubles ; 4. Dinner with the Chechen: "Fuck the '90s!" ; 5. The widow's izba: "Damn you, Pavel" ; 6. Among mercenaries: "Now let's take care of the Poles" -- Part three: Na grani ; 7. The sausage oligarch: "Thanks for the sanctions!" ; 8. The Tatar merchant: "Allah roots for Putin" ; 9. In Lenin and Oblomov's neighborhood: "Today we ask ourselves again: What do we do?" ; 10. The island of pacifists: "Boys don't cry" ; 11. The batyushka of the steppe: "Let's burn it all down" ; Closing Credits. |
| Abstract | "Since the invasion of Ukraine and ban on foreign reporters, Russia seems to have sunk into an even deeper shadow than in the darkest times of the Soviet Union. Only by presenting himself as an historian was Italian journalist Marzio G. Mian able to penetrate the Russian heartland, leading to his groundbreaking cover story for Harpers' Magazine, "Behind the New Iron Curtain." In Volga Blues, Russian history and literature inform every step of Mian's revealing and perilous journey along Russia's most culturally significant river, the fulcrum of its history, "the mother." Along with Alessandro Cosmelli, his photographer; Vlad, their translator and fixer; and Katya, Vlad's girlfriend, Mian manages to gather firsthand accounts from ordinary Russians. They discuss not only the impact of the war, Western sanctions, and their country's isolation, but how Russian culture has changed as a result. Stalin is back in favor, Lenin has been downgraded as a "Europeanized intellectual." Newly sophisticated local and seasonal cuisine is all the rage. People cite centuries-old grievances to explain their fear of Western invasion, as they claim a willingness to accept nuclear apocalypse to save Russian pride. Talking with contemporary Russian intellectuals, entrepreneurs, priests, widows, mercenaries, and pacifists, Mian discovers how little the West knows about Russia and Russians. Deeply distrustful of democracy, yearning for the ideological and spiritual purity of the Orthodox Church, betrayed by and fearful of the West, and reassured by the brutal, fragile, ancient dream of an imperial civilization, they make clear that the Cold War has not yet ended. In visceral prose, Mian takes us across the floodplains where the Russian Orthodox faith first took root, where the Soviet empire asserted itself, and where the neo-imperial project of Vladimir Putin's post-Soviet autocracy is currently being consolidated. The result is a harrowing, haunting vision of today's great clash of civilizations--between Russia and the West--including a United States that at times seems uncannily similar."--Publisher's website. |
| General note | Original title: Volga Blues: Viaggio nel cuore della Russia. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-264) and index. |
| Language | In English translated from Italian. |
| Genre/form | Travel writing. |
| Genre/form | Travel writing. |
| Genre/form | Récits de voyages. |
| LCCN | 2025046958 |
| ISBN | 9781324111030 |
| ISBN | 1324111038 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | electronic book |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | Order on Demand Title | Order On Demand | ✔ Available | Click to order this title |