Farewell to Russia: A Journey Through the Former USSR

A striking portrait--by turns angry, hilarious, and revelatory--of a region the West still misunderstands, and a warning of what happens when empires fall apart but their cultural habits refuse to die.

Snow, concrete, the KGB: that's the cliché of the Soviet Union. But its collapse in 1991 sparked a story at once complicated and more compelling than any stereotype. Thirty-five years on, Moscow may brim with champagne bars and blacked-out Mercedes--but what became of the other fourteen states that emerged from its ashes?

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Joe Luc Barnes crossed the former USSR to find out, from the gleaming towers of Azerbaijan to the former gulags of Kazakhstan, tech-hungry Estonia to the minarets of Uzbekistan. Along the way, he finds epic mountains, cobblestoned old towns, and storied Silk Road cities--not to mention Georgian wine, Armenian brandy, and vodka in industrial supply.

Traveling thousands of miles by rattling platzkart train, hitchhiking, and riding in the white cars mandated by Turkmenistan's dictator, he gathers a chorus of voices: nomads in mountain yurts, TikTok-fueled activists, small-town taxi drivers, and many who still look uneasily over their shoulder for the secret police.

These people and voices might have said goodbye to the USSR but can they ever say farewell to Russia? By turns hilarious, angry, and heart-stopping, this is an indispensable political adventure. If you loved The Silk Roads, Nothing to Envy, or The Places in Between, and have a soft spot for Bill Bryson, this is the book for you.

Author: Joe Luc Barnes
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 10/06/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.90w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9798897102006


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 08/01/2026 pg. 92
Foreword 08/27/2026

About the Author
Joe Luc Barnes spent six years living in former Soviet countries from 2014-2020. He has a master's in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Oxford and now reports as a journalist in English, Russian, and French language media, including the Financial Times; Nikkei; The Diplomat; and the Times of Central Asia. This includes reporting over the past year from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. He has visited all fifteen former USSR republics since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. He spends his time between London and Almaty, Kazakhstan.