Sankya - by Zakhar Prilepin

About the Book

Originally published in 2006, Sankya is even more relevant today as a prism through which to view the recent large-scale actions against Vladimir Putin. It is Prilepin's first novel.

Book Synopsis

Sasha "Sankya" Tishin, and his friends are part of a generation stuck between eras. They don't remember the Soviet Union, but they also don't believe in the promise of opportunity for all in the corrupt, capitalistic new Russia. They belong to an extremist group that wants to build a better Russia by tearing down the existing one. Sasha, alternately thoughtful and naïve, violent and tender, dispassionate and romantic, hopeful and hopeless, is torn between the dying village of his youth and the soulless capital, where he and his friends stage rowdy protests and do battle with the police. When they go too far, Sasha finds himself testing the elemental force of the protest movement in Russia and in himself.

Originally published in 2006, Sankya is even more relevant today as a prism through which to view the recent large-scale actions against Vladimir Putin. It is Prilepin's first novel and is widely considered his best.

Glagoslav Publications neither shares nor assumes responsibility for author's political and other views and opinions as expressed or interpreted in this book.

Review Quotes

"[Sankya] may not be light and fluffy, but it is an illuminating look into contemporary Russia, with a muscular prose style that allows for depth as well as high-octane action. For the bold reader, but for the bold reader, well worth it." E.P. Clark

"For many, this novel is seen as a mild critique of Russia's current political situation, particularly with President Putin in mind." Varia Fedko-Blake, The Culture Trip

"This English translation of Zakhar Prilepin's Sankya by Mariya Gusev and Jeff Parker has been long overdue; and in recent months disturbingly relevant. The novel gained a cult following on its 2006 release, and Prilepin was hailed as the reincarnation of any number of Russian greats, most famously Gorky." Maxim Edwards, openDemocracy

"...probably the most important writer in modern Russia, a sensitive and intelligent critic of his country's condition." Owen Matthews, Newsweek

"The novel comes to parody a thriller as the revolutionaries plunge towards a vain uprising. There is a touch of absurdity in their actions (while willing to commit assassinations, their great challenge to the president is to throw food at him)." Robin Davis, The Scotland-Russia Review

"The novel is so vivid that it seems to be almost extremist." Komsomolskaya Pravda