Азиатская Одиссея

by Dmitri Alioshin, Дмитрий Алешин

Роман-воспоминания Дмитрия Алёшина рассказывает о его скитаниях в годы Гражданской войны по Сибири и Монголии.

Издававшаяся всего один раз в 1940 году в США книга является библиографической редкостью и практически не известна российскому читателю, кроме небольшого числа исследователей, занимающихся историей монгольской эпопеи барона Унгерна.

Genres: History

376 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1940

Reviews

[Vlad Blaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jurnalul lui Dmitri Alioshin, un colonel in armata alba a Rusiei care incearca sa scape de comunisti. Porneste din Siberia lacul Baikal si spera sa ajunga inapoi in Manchuria.

[Patrick Billings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love the history around this era, and the adventure these guys lived! An amazing account of a Russian, that was being hunted for not embracing the communist ideals. He crossed thru Siberia and the Altai mountains, only to be captured by Baron Ungern, and forced to serve in his army. Eventually escaping thru the Gobi desert. An adventure of a lifetime!

[Thomas Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the craziest things I have ever read.

[Liam Ostermann]

Below is the description from one of the Kindle editions of the book - I am fascinated by it because it is another first hand account of the 'mad' Baron Ungern-Sternberg.

"Asian Odyssey, first published in 1940, is the autobiographical account of Dmitri Alioshin's experiences in Siberia and Mongolia in the chaotic, often extremely violent times following the Russian Revolution. Alioshin, an officer in the Imperial Army, served in the army of the White Russians under General Kolchak and Baron von Ungern-Sternberg, then in the communist Red Army, and later joined the ill-fated American Expeditionary force as an interpreter under General Graves. Alioshin's account makes for fascinating reading as he describes the bitter fighting between communist and Imperial forces, the shifting loyalties of the soldiers, the plundering of captured villages, the harsh landscape including a trek across the Gobi Desert, and the ways of life of the Mongols, Cossacks, and other groups. The book ends with Alioshin returning to his father's home in Harbin, China, but little is known about Alioshin's subsequent life. Included are 10 pages of illustrations."

[Penny Alioshin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something infinitely special about having the stories of your ancestors. To have a book so well composed and complete in its recounting of Dmitri's time in the army is remarkable. Ignoring the familial tie that would bar me from criticizing this book, it was astounding. Russian history is not something we get a lot of (at least not organically) in the US. I learned so much from his firsthand account of what implications the first world war and the Russian revolution had on the people of Russia and Asia. A lot of what transpired in this book, and therefore a lot of what my great grandpa did was horrendous, inhumane, and deplorable. That does not mean it is not valuable. To move forward as a society, we must acknowledge the transgressions of the past and learn their patterns so as not to repeat them.

[Ellis Amdur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real life BLOOD MERIDIAN - both a remarkable tale of adventure and survival and also one of depravity. An apparently decent man at heart, wandering Central Asia as part of the remnants of the White Russian counter-revolution, one that has devolved into murder, torture and rape, not only of one's enemies, but of the people they claimed to be saving. Alioshin blithely describes atrocities both witnessed and enacted, illustrating the fundamental point that War is a god that sweeps you up and most will do anything to survive.

[Gentko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alioshin's portrayal of the Russian Civil War in "Asian Odyssey" is refreshingly evenhanded. He steers clear of romanticizing either side, instead painting a brutal picture where both the Whites and the Reds engaged in civilian massacres. This disillusionment is a central theme, as Alioshin witnesses firsthand the descent of Russia's finest citizens into ruthless bandits. The book offers a powerful exploration of the war's corrosive impact on society.

[Nelson DeWitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book which seems to have largely flown under the radar compared to its more popular cousin in Beast, Men, and Gods by Ferdinand Ossendowski. The visceral scenes Alioshin paints draw you into this gripping story, which seems to keep up an insane pace the whole way through. I mean from the beginning, the first five pages draw you into this story which paints a story of a region filled with turbulence and wonder.

I'm not a historian, but if someone wanted a window into this turbulent time in Mongolia and Siberia, I would tell them to read this book.

[Nicholas Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

One man's trek to escape the Bolsheviks, Ataman Semenov and last-but-not-least Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg. Alioshin's experiences in Siberia and Mongolia, as he struggles towards his family home in Manchuria, display in microcosm the fragmentation and collapse of the White Russian forces in the final stages of the Russian Civil War. 'Asian Odyssey' is an incredible story of a miraculous survival.