Not Russian

by Mikhail Shevelev, Brian James Baer (Translator), Ellen Vayner (Translator)

Dramatický děj knihy se odehrává v současném Rusku, kdy skupina teroristů obsadí nedaleko Moskvy kostel plný lidí a domáhá se jednání o svých požadavcích. Autor ve svižném tempu rozehrává příběh, který začíná v polovině devadesátých let a jehož dvěma hlavními aktéry jsou právě vůdce teroristů a novinář – vypravěč příběhu –, kterého si teroristé vybrali jako vyjednavače. Prostřednictvím jejich osudů načrtává autor posledních dvacet let ruských dějin – od čečenských válek po boje na východní Ukrajině.

Genres: Russia, Fiction, Ukraine

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Andy Weston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This political thriller concerns Russian military aggression over recent years in such places as the Ukraine, Chechnya and Donbas, centring around a hostage situation in a village near Moscow.

The book’s narrator, Pavel, is a journalist, who has become entangled in a crisis when a group of men take 112 people hostage in a church in 2015. By chance, Pavel knows group’s Russian leader, Vadik, as he enabled his release after being captured and held prisoner in the First Chechen-Russian War in 1996. Vadik wants Pavel to serve as one of the negotiators.

As the situation becomes more tense, flashbacks fill the gap in the lives of Pavel and Vadik in the twenty years since they last met; Vadik has turned to terrorism, whereas Pavel has become cynical about the news media, the latter giving Shevelev a platform to voice his own concerns on Russian politics, police and KGB abuses and Putin in particular. Shevelev is a former deputy editor for The Moscow News, and currently works as a freelance journalist for Radio Liberty, amongst others, covering political and social issues in Russia.

It’s a pithy and melancholic political thriller highly appropriate for our times. My reservation is that it’s all a bit too close to the bone for my own appreciation. Some dark humour might have given a respite from the somber seriousness of it all.

[Nicole Ksend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would love to read the original as I thought the translation a little funky at some points. True to the psyche / life of a (not) Russian.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The message of this story involves one of the scourges of our age-terrorism in all its forms; how it impacts our lives and leaves justice at the periphery.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella asks many interesting questions regarding the motivations and cruelty of the Russian state, during the periods of the Chechen wars and 2014 and onwards in the ethnic republics of Russia and Ukraine. Most interestingly, it asks that citizens reflect on their complicity and apathy toward these crises, while recognizing their individual experiences that lead them to be so apathetic.

I would recommend this novella to those who are well versed in Russian culture and/or history, and certainly to others as well, particularly given current events. However, know that going into this book, you should have some background knowledge of modern Russian history from the fall of the USSR to present. Without that context, I think a lot of the finer points may be lost on you.

The ending may seem dissatisfying or anticlimactic at first glance, but it mirrors the endings of many Russian novels before it. And more importantly, it reflects the psyche of the opposition in Russia.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, condemning story about Muscovite journalist Pavel, who turns on the television to find he’s been personally summoned to negotiate a hostage situation enacted by his old friend turned terrorist, Vadik. Miraculously, it is still very funny at times. It helps to have some Russian socio-political background knowledge (I don’t) to appreciate all the references and cynicism, but all it takes is a basic understanding of human rights to grasp the indictment burning at the center of Pavel and Vadik’s story.

[Daniel Polansky]

A loosely fictionalized apologia for the crimes of post-Soviet Russia by a dissident journalist.

[Lyuba · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the afterword Ludmila Ulitskaya talks about terrorism in the twenty-first century: "In the last century, the world lived through two psychic epidemics - communism and fascism[..]. In the twenty-first century, terrorism is not based on a common ideology[...] The spread of terrorism as a means of resolving personal and political problems is a sign of our times."
Through an individual case, that of an old friend, a former soldier and prisoner of war, the author explores the idea that the cruelty and injustice in the world is ultimately an individual responsibility and ignoring it makes everyone complicit.

[Violetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work of literary journalism, Shevelev takes us through the recent history of Russia using the dramatic lens of an individual's story.
A man wants an answer. How could Russia have committed the war in Chechnya? In Ukraine? How could cruelty be institutionalized and police brutality go unremarked upon? He finds no answers.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Russian is a fascinating and incredibly timely short novel. The characters were well-drawn, and the story deftly explains the violence and bewildering changes in the lives of the citizens of the former Soviet Union after its demise. Really well done!

[Dymbula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odlehčenější a čtivou formou o prokleté ruské povaze.

[Diana Lupu · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good political thriller.

[Joe Canas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Interesting, thought-provoking, but a little bit hard to follow at times. Very timely given current events in Ukraine.

[Dcboux · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very on point as we approach marking one year of war in Ukraine, but something got lost in translation.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short, but powerful novel holds up a mirror not only to Russia, but to the world, and to each individual reader, daring you not to blush.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

prob 4.5 (if mainly bc of the typos - pls just. let someone proofread lmao) but i don't want to stick it in w the 4s

[F Gato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the 21st century. Still filled with despair.