Tall Tales
I’m reading a biography of Jerzy Kosinski at the moment: he was a holocaust survivor who wrote The Painted Bird- a best- selling autobiographical novel about his horrifying exper
Glaubensstreit auf heiligen Hainen
Drei finno-ugrische Völker leben heute in ihren eigenen Staaten: Finnland, Ungarn und Estland. In den Weiten Russlands finden sich verwandte Völker, die aber völlig unbekannt si
Journey to the Centre of the Turkmen Universe
Two years ago I met a man from Ashgabat in a McDonald’s in downtown Moscow. We chatted for a while and once he was relaxed enough, I decided to ask about some of the bizarre stor
From THE SHYMKENT DECLARATIONS
(Excerpts from the resolutions passed at the first international congress of Anti-Tourists at the Shymkent Hotel, Shymkent, Kazakhstan, October 1999) As the world has become smalle
Lost Cosmonaut (Sample) – Tartarstan
1. It was my friend Joe who suggested going to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan. He had a thing for the Golden Horde, for Grand Tartary and all that stuff. I didn’t. I had onc
Lost Cosmonaut (Sample) – Kalmykia
Dirty Police Bastards I It happened in the bus station, as we were hailing a taxi. No sooner had we sat down, than there was a knock on the passenger window. I turned round and saw
Lost Cosmonaut (Sample) – Mari El
7. What is a Mari Anyway? The most famous Finno-Ugric nations are the Hungarians, the Finns and the Estonians. They are descended from a tribe which, it is believed, emigrated west
Lost Cosmonaut (Sample) – Udmurtia
6. My railway carriage contained four humans. Aside from me, there was an old guy in a cheap shiny Russian suit and two women. The old guy liked to touch me. He touched my knee whe
Journey Into The Passed
Scottish writer Daniel Kalder seeks out strange voyages into a disappearing Texas. “The pursuit of nothing is not a bad thing,” Daniel Kalder says. “I don’t
On Strangeness
Daniel Kalder is a Scotsman living in Texas, who has spent a lot of time in Russia. In fact, Russia has become ingrained into his psyche after spending the best part of 10 years in