XANDER BLAKELY BLOG

Sweet Siberia

I stumbled upon profound happiness in Siberia, an infamous land of suffering. So what? Surely there is no need to write a book about it. Weirder things happen to people far more interesting than me. If happiness were the only thing to happen while I was there, I never would have bothered to write down a single word. But happiness wasn't the only thing that happened.

While I found enjoyment in the daily life of my little Siberian town, all around, Russia was enduring three simultaneous but distinct revolutions—one economic, one political, and one cultural. The magnitude of this triple trauma is nearly impossible to appreciate, especially for us first worlders. Imagine an economic depression as severe and sustained as America's Great Depression, a cultural awakening as rude as Commodore Perry's battleships arriving in the backward islands of Japan and a political implosion akin to Napoleonic France after Waterloo. All at once. All in the same country. Yes, Russia is a mess right now. Actually, calling it a mess is an understatement. But, by all accounts, it should be much, much worse. Yes, there is unfathomable hardship. But there is also a surprising amount of defiant joy. This is particularly true in the worst part of Russia: Siberia.

Over the years, many Siberians enchanted me with their steady hope amid hopeless chaos. I knew that these were terrific times; I also knew that these were terrific people. It was a privilege to be among them. It was an honor to be accepted by them. I went to Siberia in search of a place severe enough to satisfy my lust for extremes, and I wasn't disappointed. But I also found a place of sublime subtleties.