"An illustrated travelogue that brilliantly captures artist and illustrator's Emma Fick's epic train journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway--from Beijing through Mongolia to Moscow--including more than 200 watercolor illustrations and handwritten text that includes cultural and historical information as well as invaluable travel tips"--

"Lisa Dickey traveled across the whole of Russia three times-- in 1995, 2005 and 2015-- making friends in eleven different cities, then coming back again and again to see how their lives had changed. Like the acclaimed British documentary series Seven Up!, she traces the ups and downs of ordinary people's lives, in the process painting a deeply nuanced portrait of modern Russia. From the caretakers of a lighthouse in Vladivostok, to the Jewish community...

When the author, a British journalist moves to Moscow, she discovers an apartment on Romanov Street that was once home to the Soviet elite. One of the most infamous neighbors was the ruthless apparatchik, Stalin's henchman, Vyacheslav Molotov, who was a participant in the collectivizations and the Great Purge, and also an ardent bibliophile. In what was formerly his apartment, she uncovers an extensive library and an old magic lantern, two things...