Jens Muhling was the editor of a German newspaper in Moscow for two years, and has been working for the Berlin newspaper, Der Tagesspiegel, since 2005. His features and essays on Eastern Europe have won him several awards. He is the author of A Journey into Russia (2014) and Troubled Water: A Journey Around the Black Sea (2021).

• Preface xi1. A Finger on a Map 1Przemysl-Medyka2. The Ant Trail 11Medyka-Shehyni3. The Love Story of Inge and Bohdan 21Munich, 19594. The Love Story of SC-108 and SD-214 33Lviv5. In the Middle of Whatever 55Dilove-Rakhiv6. Dr. Stumpp Celebrates a Sad Christmas 77Berdychiv, 19417. Scrape Your Strings Darker 91Chernivtsi8. The Miracle of Kalynivka 105Vinnytsia-Kalynivka9. At Rabbi Nachman's Grave 121Uman10. Philip and the Thief 149Kiev11. A German Village 191Odessa-Dobroolexandrivka12. Revenge of the Scythians 211Simferopol-Sevastopol-Bakhchisaray13. A Handful of Acorns 241Kherson-Zaporizhia14. The Love Story of Kovyl and Tipchak 249Donetsk-Novoazovsk15. Friendship of Peoples Street 283MiloveAcknowledgements 293

PRAISES FOR A JOURNEY INTO RUSSIA; 'There is a shock of discovery and a shot of pleasure on every page.' The Times; 'A compelling story of an author's journey into deepest Siberia in a quest to meet a woman determined to remain cut off from the outside world' Sunday Telegraph; 'A Journey Into Russia [...] takes Jens Muhling into Russia's riven terrain from Kiev and Moscow to St Petersburg and Siberia and on towards the people of the Steppes, unveiling individual tales of people surviving against the odds.' The Scotsman; '[Muhling] meets a bewildering variety of "old believers" in a broader sense, from members of the sectarian Orthodox Church..., through stubbornly Leninist former Soviet citizens, to newly minted Slavonic pagans. They all want to tell Muhling their life stories which, in his empathetic retelling, provide glimpses into other lives that are vivid and frequently moving.'TLS

Jens Muhling was the editor of a German newspaper in Moscow for two years, and has been working for the Berlin newspaper, Der Tagesspiegel, since 2005. His features and essays on Eastern Europe have won him several awards. He is the author of A Journey into Russia (2014) and Troubled Water: A Journey Around the Black Sea (2021).

• Preface xi1. A Finger on a Map 1Przemysl-Medyka2. The Ant Trail 11Medyka-Shehyni3. The Love Story of Inge and Bohdan 21Munich, 19594. The Love Story of SC-108 and SD-214 33Lviv5. In the Middle of Whatever 55Dilove-Rakhiv6. Dr. Stumpp Celebrates a Sad Christmas 77Berdychiv, 19417. Scrape Your Strings Darker 91Chernivtsi8. The Miracle of Kalynivka 105Vinnytsia-Kalynivka9. At Rabbi Nachman's Grave 121Uman10. Philip and the Thief 149Kiev11. A German Village 191Odessa-Dobroolexandrivka12. Revenge of the Scythians 211Simferopol-Sevastopol-Bakhchisaray13. A Handful of Acorns 241Kherson-Zaporizhia14. The Love Story of Kovyl and Tipchak 249Donetsk-Novoazovsk15. Friendship of Peoples Street 283MiloveAcknowledgements 293

PRAISES FOR A JOURNEY INTO RUSSIA; 'There is a shock of discovery and a shot of pleasure on every page.' The Times; 'A compelling story of an author's journey into deepest Siberia in a quest to meet a woman determined to remain cut off from the outside world' Sunday Telegraph; 'A Journey Into Russia [...] takes Jens Muhling into Russia's riven terrain from Kiev and Moscow to St Petersburg and Siberia and on towards the people of the Steppes, unveiling individual tales of people surviving against the odds.' The Scotsman; '[Muhling] meets a bewildering variety of "old believers" in a broader sense, from members of the sectarian Orthodox Church..., through stubbornly Leninist former Soviet citizens, to newly minted Slavonic pagans. They all want to tell Muhling their life stories which, in his empathetic retelling, provide glimpses into other lives that are vivid and frequently moving.'TLS

Jens Muhling was the editor of a German newspaper in Moscow for two years, and has been working for the Berlin newspaper, Der Tagesspiegel, since 2005. His features and essays on Eastern Europe have won him several awards. He is the author of A Journey into Russia (2014) and Troubled Water: A Journey Around the Black Sea (2021).

• Preface xi1. A Finger on a Map 1Przemysl-Medyka2. The Ant Trail 11Medyka-Shehyni3. The Love Story of Inge and Bohdan 21Munich, 19594. The Love Story of SC-108 and SD-214 33Lviv5. In the Middle of Whatever 55Dilove-Rakhiv6. Dr. Stumpp Celebrates a Sad Christmas 77Berdychiv, 19417. Scrape Your Strings Darker 91Chernivtsi8. The Miracle of Kalynivka 105Vinnytsia-Kalynivka9. At Rabbi Nachman's Grave 121Uman10. Philip and the Thief 149Kiev11. A German Village 191Odessa-Dobroolexandrivka12. Revenge of the Scythians 211Simferopol-Sevastopol-Bakhchisaray13. A Handful of Acorns 241Kherson-Zaporizhia14. The Love Story of Kovyl and Tipchak 249Donetsk-Novoazovsk15. Friendship of Peoples Street 283MiloveAcknowledgements 293

PRAISES FOR A JOURNEY INTO RUSSIA; 'There is a shock of discovery and a shot of pleasure on every page.' The Times; 'A compelling story of an author's journey into deepest Siberia in a quest to meet a woman determined to remain cut off from the outside world' Sunday Telegraph; 'A Journey Into Russia [...] takes Jens Muhling into Russia's riven terrain from Kiev and Moscow to St Petersburg and Siberia and on towards the people of the Steppes, unveiling individual tales of people surviving against the odds.' The Scotsman; '[Muhling] meets a bewildering variety of "old believers" in a broader sense, from members of the sectarian Orthodox Church..., through stubbornly Leninist former Soviet citizens, to newly minted Slavonic pagans. They all want to tell Muhling their life stories which, in his empathetic retelling, provide glimpses into other lives that are vivid and frequently moving.'TLS