In a contested, lawless region between Moldova and Ukraine known as Transnistria, a tightly knit group of honest criminals live according to strict codes of ritualized respect and fierce loyalty. In a voice utterly compelling and unforgettable, Nicolai Lilin, born and raised within this exotic subcu[...]

"The saboteurs? Holy Christ, what happened? What did you do to deserve that?" a fellow soldier responds when he hears that Nicolai Lilin has been assigned to an unconventional, ultra-high-risk paramilitary unit of the Russian army. Also nicknamed the "para-bats" for the black parachutes that dropped[...]

By the age of six, Nicolai Lilin had been given his first 'pike knife' by an uncle, and by the age of twelve, he had been convicted of attempted murder ...Nicolai Lilin gained his 'education' as a member of the Siberian Urkas - a small and tight-knit community of 'honest criminals' in a forgotten co[...]

Free Fall tells the brutal engrossing story of the Second Chechen War, through the eyes of a young Russian Soldier. Nicolai Lilin was trained as a sniper in an unorthodox Russian Special Forces regiment called the Saboteurs. This hardened and close-knit band of brothers, operating beyond the control[...]

I det omstridda och laglösa Transnistrien, beläget mellan Moldavien och Ukraina, lever en tätt sammansvetsad grupp »hederliga kriminella« en gång deporterade av Stalin i enlighet med strikta koder för ritualiserad respekt och kompromisslös lojalitet. Här berättar tatueringar historien om[...]

I det omstridda och laglösa Transnistrien, beläget mellan Moldavien och Ukraina, lever en tätt sammansvetsad grupp »hederliga kriminella«  en gång deporterade av Stalin  i enlighet med strikta koder för ritualiserad respekt och kompromisslös lojalitet. Här berättar tatueringar historien [...]