Früher war alles besser

Back Then Everything was Better - Stories from Russia

Löcker Publisher

It was exactly during the time of the transitions occurring in Russia that Claudia Erdheim spent two years in the country. With only several interruptions, she not only lived in Moscow, but also traveled through the vast land. Her stay ended on September 29, 1998, six weeks after the beginning of the crisis. But even before this point, Russian life was not at all simple, and everday matters completely different than in the West, where things have remained peaceful and satiated for the last fifty years. Using five stories, strange stories about a strange country and its people, Erdheim relates her Russian encounters, adventures and impressions. Erdheim's gift for seeing the comical aspects of the greatest misery, to find the ludicrous within the greatest chaos, make these stories more powerful than other travel accounts. Her own account is accompanied by a volume of photographs. But Claudia Erdheim is a writer, not a photographer. Even when the snapshots are set close together, they hardly differ from the well-known pictures of Russia or the Ukraine. The fact, however, that they were not easily taken even in the (new) Russia because old-time functionaries still adhered to old rules is only one facet of the colorful mosaic depicting this colorful country so foreign to us. Since Erdheim's visit to Russia, life has not become easier for its people. This has certainly remained the same, and is fondly described by the author.

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