Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld - Hardcover

"A rarity. It tells the story of a world that has disappeared -- that of the Siberian Urkas, the community of criminals deported by Stalin. You have to force yourself to forget about categories of good and evil. You have to just be there and read. . . . [It] will produce a thrill of pleasure that is hard to forget."
-- Roberto Saviano, author of Gomorrah
"Terrifying, fascinating, horrific and violent -- Lilin's memoir is an eye-opening and gripping account of a childhood spent in the brutal Siberian underworld."
-- Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of Young Stalin
"Astonishing. . . . Takes you into some very strange worlds; frightening, violent and yet with spirited moments of redemption which both offer hope and keep you reading. . . . Remarkable for its authenticity. . . . A breathtaking memoir."
-- Misha Glenny, author of McMafia
"This story makes most of what we call true crime writing seem insipid and effete. Nicolai Lilin has produced a marvellous an

This is the Russiangangland recast as medieval Romance. . . . Amid the depravity of its anti-heroes, Siberian Education paints a memorable world of anarchism, devotion, humor and respect. --Toby Lichtig

Lilin may have thebirthright of a crook, but he has the eye of an anthropologist, and he trainsit on the folkways of an outlaw subculture as ritualized and moralistic as anyreligion.

This is the Russian gangland recast as medieval Romance. . . . Amid the depravity of its anti-heroes, Siberian Education paints a memorable world of anarchism, devotion, humor and respect. --Toby Lichtig"

Lilin may have the birthright of a crook, but he has the eye of an anthropologist, and he trains it on the folkways of an outlaw subculture as ritualized and moralistic as any religion.

Nicolai Lilin grew up in Transnistria, which declared its independence from Russia in 1990 but has never been recognized as a state. His previous book, Siberian Education, was also a bestseller in Europe and has been made into a movie with John Malkovich. Lilin lives in Milan, where he has founded an art gallery called Kolima Contemporary Culture.