Wanderers. The Gold of Aldan

This edition includes the first two books of the epic novel by Kamil Ziganshin, which in scale and mastery can be compared to the “Odyssey” or “Quiet Don.” This saga is dedicated to a part of the Russian people no less important than the Don Cossacks — the Old Believers.

The novel “Wanderers” introduces the reader to the Old Believer community that formed in the Vetluzhsk forests by the mid-19th century, having overcome a difficult path through the Urals and Siberia before settling in the Transbaikal region, and later being pushed into the wilderness of the Aldan Highlands. “The Gold of Aldan” tells of the dramatic events in the life of the community from 1922 to 1955, closely intertwined with the fate of a White Guards detachment that sought refuge in the taiga after the defeat of General Pepelyaev’s army.

Kamil Ziganshin’s saga is dedicated to the heroism of people who preserved the ancient Russian culture and spirituality in pristine purity, providing an example of extraordinary spiritual resilience and centuries-long devotion to their faith. The schism is one of the heaviest scars left on the body of Russian civilization, and at the same time, it is a remarkably life-affirming testimony to the resilience of the Russian people and their ability to coexist and get along with people of other cultures and faiths.