BOOKS & MORE: With the Saboteurs in Chechnya

Sometimes there are books that you stumble upon very randomly: "novel" and "Chechen war" were the keywords that caught our attention, which is why we picked up the book, then it lay around for a long time and finally this summer we got around to reading it. The Russian author now lives in Italy and works as a tattoo artist. He has two books. "Siberian Education" describes his extremely criminal youth and was made into a film in 2012 with John Malkovich in the lead role (HERE is the trailer on YouTube). "Free Fall" supposedly reflects Lilin's experience in the Second Chechen War (1999 to 2009).

Literature is not documentary. But Lilin writes too factually about the military to be just literature. At age 18, he is drafted. Because he is a convicted criminal, he joins a special forces unit. The name of this unit is not mentioned throughout the book. They are trained almost exclusively at night, deployed at key points in the war, do not have to wear correct uniforms, and also operate in civilian clothes. The trail Lilin leaves suggests that a piece of skin in the shape of a bat is cut out from a fallen enemy. If this is unfortunately correct, he spent two years with the GRU Spetsnaz in the Caucasus War.

Suhrkamp is usually known as a publisher of "high-quality," authentic literature. Traditional readers may struggle with "Free Fall" because Lilin is a very meticulous describer of the war craft, weapons, and his combat experiences. There is little criticism of the actions, more of acceptance. In the end, Lilin struggles with his experiences and traumas. But before that, he fights and wants to survive. The whole thing reads extremely exciting. The sympathy for the regular Russian infantry, the accounts of the international Islamists facing the Russians. And combat descriptions, detailed scenes of urban warfare, fast forest battles, ambushes, house searches, guerrilla warfare. Lilin is a sniper, working with VSS Vintorez or AS Val for short distances, and his Kalashnikov is his backup weapon for 'normal' situations. Vodka is ever-present, sometimes no prisoners are taken and it is normal (but forbidden) to create a "monument," readers learn: prisoners who are killed and draped with unit markings and insults... war crimes.

Free Fall is a very tough book, just as the war in Chechnya was a dirty war. Besides the direct insights Lilin provides, he leaves you to judge the events on your own. HERE is an interview with the author about his two books.

“Free Fall (suhrkamp paperback)“ by Nicolai Lilin, Frankfurt/M. 2011, Suhrkamp Verlag, 400 pages, Euro 14,19 (Kindle Edition: 12,99).