Lost Cosmonaut: Observations of an Anti-Tourist

Kalder's 'Lost Cosmonaut' veers between serious and flippant in its treatment of four semi-autonomous Russian republics. He covers Muslims and Stalinists in Tatarstan, pagans and wedding agencies in Mari-El, exiled Buddhists, chess and Chuck Norris in Kalmykia, the Kalashinakov and his own unwillingness to become an 'expert' in Udmurtia. Kalder treats everything with a dry, black Scottish humor, occasionally accompanied by an outburst of entertaining obscenities, but at no point does he patronize the locals with either a scientific chin-stroking wonder or a National Geographic photographic sensibility. Deliberately distanced from the people he meets, the narrative is ironic enough to carry off occasional (and obvious) outrageous lies, like hallucinations in the Russian steppe. Kalder describes life in these republics as a combination of chance, boredom, cold obstruction, hope and self-creation, and the book reads like that itself. If you just want a laugh, it works, if you want to know about these people and places, it works, but if you want something more, it excels.

This book was an excellent read for those who enjoy imagining yourself appearing on the other side of the world with little or no money. It takes the reader on a visual and personal narrative of exploring obscure regions of Russia. Starting with a more well known region it trails down to the Russified plains of things that used to be. If you enjoy non-fiction reads like Hot House or other honest journeys into abandoned places you will enjoy this book.

Did you know there was a Buddhist republic in Europe? And a desert for that matter? Or a pagan republic? Russia stretches from Eastern Europe to Alaska and contains many semi-autonomous republics - they have their own presidents, their own TV stations, their own heroes and legends and, of course, their own corruption, brutality, and cities dedicated to chess. They just don't have tourists. Kalder sets out as an 'anti-tourist' visiting these undesirable places and casting a realistic eye over them and their prospects; yet the same eye also contains a deep empathy towards these people and their invisible countries. Kalder's black humour carries the book from history to personal encounter (or non-encounter) with ease, and his revelations broaden out the view well beyond four republics you've never heard of. Kalder states at the beginning that 'travel rarely broadens the mind', and travel books even more rarely do so. But this one does, brilliantly.

This is a delightful book. Among the joking that runs throughout the book, there are descriptions of places that I for one had never heard of. These places are republics of various ethnic groups that are found in European Russia. The author, Daniel Kalder from Scotland, visits these places sometimes with one or more companions and sometimes alone. Along with descriptions of these places and his adventures there, Kalder also gives information about their history, of the people living there at present and their culture. The first place he visits with the 2 friends is the capitol of Tatarstan where he meets up with a Tatar who has a friend that is a Russian. These 2 took the 3 travelers around to see the sights. The next republic, that Kalder visited after a break during which he went to New York, was the Republic of Kalmykia whose people are ethnic Mongols and their republic is the only place in Europe in which Buddhism is the state religion. It is a sparsely inhabited and a dry, dead land. The 3 friends went to Elista the capitol where the most interesting thing to see was the Chess City which had been built for the 1998 Chess Olympiad by K. Ilumzhinov, president of Kalmykia. After Kalmykia, Kalder went back to Scotland. While trying to decide what to do next, he decided to write a book and went back to Russia. He next went to the Republic of Mari. The Mari's are an offshoot of the original tribe of the Hungarians, the Finns and the Estonians. In El Mari, he went looking for the pagans that were supposed to live there and found the high priest of the pagans. The last republic that he visited was Udmurtia. The capitol, Izhevksk, was home to the inventor of the Ak-47 assault rifle. The Udmurt are also a Finno-Ugric people. The Mari had fought against invaders but the Udmurt had not. They had become Christians after pressure by Russians and would run into the forest when anyone attacked them. They are a minority even in their own country and are assimilating with the Russians. So if you want to read about places and people that you (like me) have never hear of and unless you read this book probably never will, you should read this informative and funny book.

Did you know there was a Buddhist republic in Europe? And a desert for that matter? Or a pagan republic? Russia stretches from Eastern Europe to Alaska and contains many semi-autonomous republics - they have their own presidents, their own TV stations, their own heroes and legends and, of course, their own corruption, brutality, and cities dedicated to chess. They just don't have tourists. Kalder sets out as an 'anti-tourist' visiting these undesirable places and casting a realistic eye over them and their prospects; yet the same eye also contains a deep empathy towards these people and their invisible countries. Kalder's black humour carries the book from history to personal encounter (or non-encounter) with ease, and his revelations broaden out the view well beyond four republics you've never heard of. Kalder states at the beginning that 'travel rarely broadens the mind', and travel books even more rarely do so. But this one does, brilliantly.