The Red Quest: Travels Through 22 Countries of the Former Soviet Union

by Jason Smart

The Red Quest is the true story of one man's insane mission to visit every country of the former Soviet Union.

Along the way, the author samples fermented mare's milk in Kazakhstan, gets chased by hounds in Kiev, is detained by the police in Kyrgyzstan, travels through a snow blizzard between Armenia and Georgia, and gets mugged by a pensioner in Tajikistan. Oh, and he also takes a side trip to a genuine breakaway state where he is almost beaten up in a border hut. All in the name of The Red Quest! He must try to keep the mission a secret from his wife though, otherwise she may derail his plans.

Constantly berated by his friend for wanting to go to 'Turnipland', the Red Quest is a journey spanning half the world from Western Europe to the edge of China! And he is armed only with a pocket full of roubles and a turnip masher.

Join Jason Smart as he travels along the Red Quest through Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Moldova. Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Poland, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and East Germany!

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Russia

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2013

About the author

I am a travel writer living in the Middle East with my wife.
I love travel and have been to over 100 countries across 6 continents.
In my spare time, I play bass in a rock band.
Please feel free to ask me any questions about travel or my books.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I think it is a must read if you are considering visiting one of the ex soviet countries as this gives a little taste of what the country is like, unlike a guide book you are not bogged down with info, this is someones real life experiences.

Jason Smart has visited each of these countries with the ideas all of us have about these old run-down ex-communist countries, with a slight obsession with turnips. He has a lot of fears that he eventually overcomes, especially once he starts travelling alone. All of his expectations are proved wrong when he finds that he is not visiting villages full of poor people but in fact a lot of the cities are quite modern, everybody seems to be doing as well as anybody else in Europe.

Each country gets a chapter in the book and you get given quite a lot of history which I found very interesting. Some of the countries are still run by crazy dictators and some of the rules they have introduced are insane, you'd best not laugh though, just in case you are being watched........

Jason Smart has another book very similar to this which I will be reading soon.

Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2019...

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.50!

[thereadytraveller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason Smart's first book is a very enjoyable read about his "quest" to visit all 22 countries that were previously behind the Iron Curtain. Concentrating mostly on the capital city of each country the books very much has a whirlwind feel similar to that of Kon-Tiki type European bus tours (If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium) but is saved due to a good mix of humour and historical background, mostly around the events that led to each country breaking free from their communist shackles.

[David Canford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading of countries in the former Eastern bloc some of which I know virtually nothing about, but each visit is very short and usually just to the capital so you don't get that much sense of place or the people who live there.

[David Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A swift, pleasurable romp through the old USSR.

Jason Smart isn't the most incredible writer, and the book isn't packed with anecdotes that pretty much anyone else who visited these countries wouldn't experience themselves. The format is pretty basic. Each country is introduced with some information that could have easily been gleaned from Wikipedia and then he visits the most famous landmarks of (usually) just the capital.

It's an easy, pleasurable read though, the countries are pretty fascinating places, and it made me feel like I could publish the diaries of my world travels, so it gets an extra star just for that.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Loved the rapid fire of learning about 22 different countries and what they are like. I found this book very informative and interesting.

[Pauline Mably · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this travel tale especially the facts and figures he provides. This is a traveller who does his research. As a 38 year old I identified with his style of travelling which is more about seeing places while living a normal life than about dropping out of life and somehow seeking a different existence. it was actually a book about the places visited rather than the people met and impact of the events and I enjoyed his transition to solo traveller. The whole urgent quest thing irritated me a little - did his wife really not know???? As a travel writer who had already published books I simply don't believe that the entire thing was not planned and executed in a deliberate and considered manner and I don't think the author needed the quest thing to validate travelling to the region. I also didn't really like the way he seems to constantly suggest that travelling to the region is a bit crazy and unlikely - sure they aren't huge tourist venues but many people do visit or desire to do so and it was a little patronising to suggest otherwise.

Ultimately, the author is pleasant enough, considerate and aware of his surroundings and knowledgable that it saves this book and I was really engrossed in it so I would recommend.

[Melissa Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Great idea for a book and quest. I applaud Smart for undertaking such a journey. Unfortunately, this books is poorly written, with little concern for a wide audience. I am certain that his friends and family were thrilled with the continual references to his friends who discouraged him by comments about going to "Turnip Land," but this grew tiresome after the second mention. In a similar way, his fear that his wife would not allow him to complete his quest were completely unnecessary to the storyline as it was obvious to any reader who picked up the book that he had completed the 22 country quest.

I could have ignored these things had his treatment of the countries he visited been less stereotypical, morbid, and full of his drunken exploits. Rarely did he leave tourist areas and in some cases his stays in a country were less than 2 days. There was virtually no mention of the people who live out their lives in these places and this was extremely disappointing.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Account of another enjoyable romp - this time through the ex-communist world across Eurasia. May seem sketchy but has enticing details and impressions enough of a raft of historic European and exotic Asian capitals, many of which are far from the (normally) beaten path, to bring them to vivid life. Added to it is just the barely necessary historical background, that is illuminating without being daunting. The planning of this quest was an epic act in itself and we must be thankful to the even-handed approach of Mr Smart's wife who wisely allowed him to get it out of his system and in the process, allowed us another marvellous read....

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seemed very repetitive.