Sovietistan: A travelogue turned too political

Book title: Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

Book authour: Erika Fatland

When elections knock at the door of a third world country like mine, delegations from the first world countries leave their footsteps too. They dissect on which scale citizens are practicing democracy in the country. Voter turnout, freedom of media, open criticism about leaders are some of the indicators. I will tell you why I am talking about this while writing the book review.

Central Asia is a very dear subject to me. Even though I have never been there, I can close my eyes and fantasize about road tripping along the Tien Shan mountain range, riding a four-wheeler on the Pamir highway, or trekking the orange canyons to watch an orange sunset. Central Asia attracts me with its beautiful destinations, and I am also very curious to know its rich heritage, the people’s lifestyle. I want to taste qurt, drink chai from the artful tea kettles. What I care less is—the countries’ political dynamics. Politics is an important part of today’s life. But it’s almost always dirty. Why would I combine politics in my favorite genre of book travelogue and get pessimistic… that’s why I did not like Erika Fatland’s take on Sovietistan. Erika shares her journey around the five ex-Soviet countries she travelled to—Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. I thought the book would focus on the cultural history, daily lives, landscape etc. The landscape was almost absent. I was glad to learn about cultural history. But what over-powered the book was page after page of political history and present day democracy checks. Erika tours mainly the historical places and interviews people like “can you criticize your country’s leader?” Every professional she meets, she shares how little they earn. I suppose, the book’s perfect readers would be those who never set foot outside the West and live in a Western cocoon. They might find something interesting in these conversations where the author interviews locals “can you speak something about your president?”, “how do you live with so little money?”...

I was desperate to read something about Central Asia. My previous attempt to read another travelogue by a British author, The Lost Heart of Asia, did not go very well. So I came back to Erika. Unfortunately, I could not enjoy the thick Western lens through which Erika observed Central Asia.

At the same time I was watching a Youtube series Silk Route Over Land from the channel Little Chinese Everywhere. The explorer visits many of the same places, talks about history and culture, shows the beautiful landscape, and the beautiful people. I loved how she treats everyone with respect, and regards the place and culture with admiration, not with an alarming tone.

I wish my favorite travel writer Syed Mujtaba Ali visited these places, and left some gifts for his fans like me.

Sovietistan is a great work dissecting the ex-soviet countries political landscape, and that's it. Not a travelogue.

My notes and highlights from the book