Sovietistan

Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

By: Erika Fatland

Narrated by: Jill Rolls

Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan became free of the Soviet Union in 1991. But though they are new to modern statehood, this is a region rich in ancient history, culture, and landscapes unlike anywhere else in the world.

Traveling alone, Erika Fatland is a true adventurer in every sense. In Sovietistan, she takes the listener on a compassionate and insightful journey to explore how their Soviet heritage has influenced these countries, with governments experimenting with both democracy and dictatorships.

In Kyrgyzstani villages, she meets victims of the tradition of bride snatching; she visits the huge and desolate Polygon in Kazakhstan where the Soviet Union tested explosions of nuclear bombs; she meets shrimp gatherers on the banks of the dried-out Aral Sea; she witnesses the fall of a dictator.

She travels incognito through Turkmenistan, a country that is closed to journalists. She meets exhausted human rights activists in Kazakhstan, survivors from the massacre in Osh in 2010, and German Mennonites who found paradise on the Kyrgyzstani plains 200 years ago. We learn how ancient customs clash with gas production and witness the underlying conflicts between ethnic Russians and the majority in a country that is slowly building its future in nationalist colors.

Once the frontier of the Soviet Union, life follows another pace of time. Amidst the treasures of Samarkand and the brutalist Soviet architecture, Sovietistan is a rare and unforgettable adventure.

©2020 Erika Fatland (P)2021 Scribd Audio

good collection of History

I got a foreign exchange student from one of these countries, so I got this book in hopes to better understand where they came from. it definitely wasn't eye-opener in the central Asia countries. book did get a little dry at some parts, but overall it was educational and I got what I came for.

A delightful book

A delightfully engaging and informative book that weaves centuries of history with present day travels with ease. I knew almost nothing about the ‘Stans and wouldn’t say I’m particularly interested in them but the author convinced me otherwise. Definitely worth a listen.

Fascinating and enjoyable

I have a much deeper understanding of Central Asia. It was well written. Very interesting.

Wonderful enlightening

Very informative book which is a combination travel log, history and political insight of an area not usually visited by westerners.

Outstanding book

I had developed an interest in this book after reading Peter Hopkirk‘s work. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I discovered is a book that is not just a travel book but deep and inspiring story of the people groups and their histories that shaped the region. With the recent reemergence of an imperialist Soviet mentality, this book has become an important read. I could not recommended it more highly. It is wonderfully researched and artfully told. It is well worth the investment in time.

A brilliantly written account of a mysterious world, charmingly and cheerfully narrated

This book is an unusual pleasure. A companion for long drives or quiet work time. It introduces us to the secret, hidden world of the Stans and its peoples caught between the Middle Ages and now retro Soviet modernization. The reader Jill Rolls is a star and makes the whole thing an armchair adventure. More from Jill please!

A good overview

A good overview of an area that we know so little about but is so important to today’s world

Great narrative and history of a unique time

It’s a good read about a region of the world that if you have any sense of. I would caution that the author traveled there 10 years ago, and there have been major improvements in Uzbekistan.

An interesting journey to a unlikely place in the world off the beaten path.

The book is quite interesting with the combination style of actual travel experiences in the region and historical information about the area. The narrator is really hard to understand with a thick accent unfortunately.

Could have been good…BUT too much veers off annoyingly into “the weeds”

Roughly one third of the book gives you what you came for: an introduction and big picture overview of the countries, their cultures, the economies, and place in the region and the world…Unfortunately, intermittently in each section, the author slides quickly into a self-indulgent deep dive into subjects that are either too obscure and/or too overly detailed (especially, regarding politicians) that come across as frankly irrelevant and or just whatever she happened to bump into. Needs massive editing!