The author travels across Russia, from crowded Moscow train to empty windswept villages, following in the footsteps of one extraordinary man, the dissident Orthodox priest Father Dmitry. In this book, he tells the story of a nation: famine, war, the frozen wastes of the Gulag, the collapse of communism and now, a people seeking oblivion.

'Wonderful ... These are the chronicles of a writer who truly knows Russia' New York Times

Award-winning writer Oliver Bullough travels the country from crowded Moscow train to empty windswept village, following in the footsteps of one extraordinary man, the dissident Orthodox priest Father Dmitry. His moving, terrifying story is the story of a nation: famine, war, the frozen wastes of the Gulag, the collapse of communism and now, a people seeking oblivion. Bullough shows that in a country so willing to crush its citizens, there is also courage, resilience and flickering glimmers of hope.