Unflinching and unforgiving, *Free Fall* is a gripping account of a young soldier's experiences in a brutal and bloody war.
Nicolai Lilin, author of the international bestseller *Siberian Education*, was conscripted and trained as a sniper in an unorthodox Russian special forces regiment called the Saboteurs. Operating outside traditional military codes, this elite band fought their way through the inhospitable terrain of Chechnya, encountering mercenary fighters and anti-personnel mines, hand-to-hand combat and extreme torture.
**Nicolai Lilin** was born in 1981 and grew up in the small republic of Transnistria, which declared its independence in 1990 but has never been recognised. Lilin left home to fight in the Russian army against the Chechens. Lilin later lived in Ireland, before moving to Italy, where he works as a tattooist in Turin.
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'As well as being a cracker of an adventure story, the book also offers insight into the psychological disintegration of war as seen through the eyes of a stoic but articulate soldier.' *Daily Telegraph*
'This is a true story, a follow-up to Nicolai Lilin's *Siberian Education*, but it reads like something from Kafka or Dostoevsky...A personal tale, often grimly ironic, also one that mirrors the story of post-capitalist Soviet Russia.' *Age*
'The memoir...compellingly strings together memory fragments in appallingly graphic, well-told set pieces.' *North & South*
Description:
Unflinching and unforgiving, *Free Fall* is a gripping account of a young soldier's experiences in a brutal and bloody war. Nicolai Lilin, author of the international bestseller *Siberian Education*, was conscripted and trained as a sniper in an unorthodox Russian special forces regiment called the Saboteurs. Operating outside traditional military codes, this elite band fought their way through the inhospitable terrain of Chechnya, encountering mercenary fighters and anti-personnel mines, hand-to-hand combat and extreme torture. **Nicolai Lilin** was born in 1981 and grew up in the small republic of Transnistria, which declared its independence in 1990 but has never been recognised. Lilin left home to fight in the Russian army against the Chechens. Lilin later lived in Ireland, before moving to Italy, where he works as a tattooist in Turin. textpublishing.com.au 'As well as being a cracker of an adventure story, the book also offers insight into the psychological disintegration of war as seen through the eyes of a stoic but articulate soldier.' *Daily Telegraph* 'This is a true story, a follow-up to Nicolai Lilin's *Siberian Education*, but it reads like something from Kafka or Dostoevsky...A personal tale, often grimly ironic, also one that mirrors the story of post-capitalist Soviet Russia.' *Age* 'The memoir...compellingly strings together memory fragments in appallingly graphic, well-told set pieces.' *North & South*