"Although Lilin's book is about a Russian-speaking region and his native language is Russian, he writes in the language of his adopted native land, following in the tradition of Nabokov, Serge, and Triolet (nee Kagan). His choice to write in a non-native idiom firmly places his audience outside of the Russian-speaking world, yet the subjects of his two books – criminality in Transnistria and his experiences as a saboteur in Chechnya – emerge from distinctly Russian contexts. Perhaps most tellingly, both issues touch upon a perceived incommensurability between Russia and the West. It is somewhat ironic that Lilin's audience consists of the very same westerners who previously were the objects of his scorn. The enemy that he once hated, the West, now provides his bread and butter; the fact that there will soon be a film based on the book only adds to the absurdity."
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Original Language: English
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Michael Bobick (November 2011), "Profits of disorder: images of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic", Global Crime, Vol. 12, No. 4, 239–265
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Siberian_Education
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Siberian Education
Siberian Education (2009) by Nicolai Lilin. It was followed by a sequel, Free Fall: A Sniper's Story from Chechnya.
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