Travel
to post-Soviet Siberia and the Russian Far East with author Sharon Hudgins as
she takes readers on a personal adventure through the Asian side of Russia--an
area closed to most Westerners and many Russians prior to the 1990s. Even today,
few people from the West have ridden the Trans-Siberian railroad in winter,
stood on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, feasted with the Siberian Buryats,
or lived in the "high-rise villages" of Vladivostok and Irkutsk.
One of only a handful of American women who have lived and worked in this part of the world, Hudgins dispels many of the myths and misconceptions that surround this "other side of Russia." She artfully depicts the details of everyday life, set within their cultural and historical context--local customs, foods, and festivals, as well as urban life, the education system, and the developing market economy in post-Soviet Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Hudgins's prose shines in her colorful descriptions of multi-course meals washed down with champagne and vodka, often eaten by candlelight when the electricity failed. The author's accounts of hors d'oeuvres made of sea slugs and roulades of raw horse liver will fascinate those with adventuresome tastes, while her stories of hosting Spanish, French, and Tex-Mex dinners will come as a surprise to anyone who thinks of Russia as a gastronomic wasteland.
Readers of The Other Side of Russia will find themselves among the guests at Christmas parties, New Year's banquets, Easter dinners, and birthday celebrations. They will experience the challenges of living in high-rise apartment buildings, often lacking water, heat, and electricity. Above all, Asian Russia's natural beauty, thriving cities, and proud people shine from the pages, proving it is not only a land of harsh winters and vast uninhabited spaces, but also a home to millions of Russian citizens who live and work in modern metropolises and enjoy a rich cultural and social life.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK:
"Sharon Hudgins has written a vivid and engrossing book about a part of the world that's both geographically and ethnically complex. She's done much to make the unfamiliar familiar." --- Larry McMurtry
"Like Hedrick Smith's best-seller, The Russians, Sharon Hudgins' The Other Side of Russia takes the reader inside Russia, to the daily life of the people and the economic and political realities in the post-Soviet era. It goes well beyond being a travelogue, and provides insight well beyond Siberia. A great read." --- Helen Hundley, Wichita State University
"Chapter 7, entitled 'The High-Rise Village,' is an instant classic in the literature on Russia. This is a wonderful book that has something for all...it will entertain everyone from lay persons to Slavic scholars." --- Victor L. Mote, University of Houston and author of Siberia: Worlds Apart
"...an exceptional book that presents a multi-layered picture of Russia...an essential book for those who hope to understand the changes that have shaken Siberia and the Russian Far East over the past decade..." --- Bill Richardson, University of Washington Tacoma
"An outstanding feature of the book is its wealth of detail. The author was in Russia long enough, and in two different regions, to get a much deeper knowledge than is possible for most outsiders. Hudgins seamlessly weaves in a lot of history and other factual information, which makes the book a valuable resource for those interested in sociology and anthropology, as well as education and Russian Studies." --- Kira Van Deusen, Ethnographer of Siberian Peoples
"Sharon Hudgins' perceptive memoir of survival in modern Siberia is full of anecdotes, conversation, humor, food, friendships, and hardships...an animated examination of grim, grimy, and unpredictably gracious ordinary life in the extraordinary place she calls 'Absurdistan.' " --- Alfred Friendly, Jr., co-author of Ecocide in the USSR and former Newsweek Moscow bureau chief
"Rare is the person who can step into the wonderland of Siberia and capture the culture and the spirit of its people. Sharon Hudgins has done that and more.... This is a warm, considered, and completely engaging work from start to finish. For those seeking a window into the soul of Siberia, you need look no further." --- James A. Cramer, President & CEO, World Learning
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sharon Hudgins is an award-winning author and food/travel writer who has also worked as a university professor, book editor, magazine editor, filmmaker, and photographer. For almost two decades she worked for the University of Maryland's education programs in Europe, Asia, and the United States. During the early post-Soviet period, she was a professor and administrator for the University of Maryland's programs at two Russian universities in Siberia and the Russian Far East.
She has lived abroad for 20 years--in Germany, Spain, Greece, France, England, Scotland, Japan, Korea, and Russia--and has traveled in more than 40 countries around the world. Her previous residences have ranged from Munich, Athens, Paris, London, Madrid, and Tokyo, to a shepherd's cottage in the Scottish Highlands, a German winery on the Mosel River, a mountain village in southern Spain, and a high-rise apartment building in southern Siberia.
She is the author of three books, one of which received a national literary award in Germany in 1992. In 1996 her paper about the foods of the Siberian Buryats won a Sophie Coe Subsidiary Prize in Food History, at the Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery. She is a contributor to the forthcoming Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, and her culinary research in Russia has been cited in The Oxford Companion to Food. She is also the author of Never an Ivory Tower, a history of the University of Maryland's global education programs. More than 500 of her food and travel articles have been published in major magazines and newspapers in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Currently she is working on her next book, a culinary memoir titled T-Bone Whacks & Caviar Snacks: Cooking with Two Texans in Siberia.
She holds a bachelor's degree in government (with a specialization in Soviet and East European studies) from the University of Texas at Austin, a master's degree in political science (with a specialization in United States-Soviet strategic relations) from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and a master's degree in communications from the University of Texas at Austin.
List of Illustrations, VIII
List of Maps, IX
Acknowledgments, XI
Preface, XIII
Introduction, XIX
Chapters
1. The Road to Russia, 3
2. Vladivostok: Capital of Russia’s Wild East, 10
3. Riding the Rails: The Trans-Siberian Railroad, 41
4. Irkutsk: The Paris of Siberia, 71
5. Lake Baikal: The Sacred Sea of Siberia, 98
6. Among the Buryats, 123
7. The High-rise Village, 144
8. Feasts and Festivals, 173
9. The Market Economy, 213
10. School Days, 241
11. Farewell to Russia, 273
Postscript, 289
Bibliographic Essay and Notes, 297
Index, 313