From Russia, with love

The book is not only the descriptions of spots and people the writer has visited. Ray keeps in mind many historical events and facts related to Russia. He then tries to link those to the current realities of that country, writes Nazmun Nahar reviewing the book

Russia is not a desirable destination for Bangladeshi tourists --- like America, the United States to be precise, for either living or travelling. During the Soviet-era, the urge to see the giant socialist state used to attract many left-leaning people, mainly youths, to that country. They would visit the country on scholarship for study purpose. White-collar workers from Third World countries would require Soviet government's sponsorship. The prospects for state-sponsored visits and short stays, however, were shattered after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The non-socialist Russia had initially been plunged into a prolonged recession. It took more than a decade to revive economic stability in the post-Soviet era in that country. Through a series of painful structural changes, Russia has again emerged as an important player in the global geo-politics.

Today it is impossible to ignore Russia in the world's geo-political sphere. It is one of countries in the world with a vast territory, and is considered the ninth largest by population.  Having a diverse cultural landscape and a rich history, the non-socialist Russia has long been a great tourist attraction. By hosting the FIFA World Cup Football Tournament in 2018, the country successfully drew large numbers of tourist from around the globe.

Proshun Ray took the opportunity to visit Russia at that time. He later recorded his month-long experience of visiting different parts of Russia. The book titled 'Russiar Proibrajok' is a collection of those accounts.

By profession Ray is an international education adviser and manages a consulting firm. He has to travel frequently to different lands mainly on professional purposes. The writer, however, doesn't miss the opportunity to make his visits more than routine-bound professional tours. It's clear that these visits have finally enriched his experiences of lands and people. But his visit to Russia in 2018 proved so enthralling to him that he published a book to mark the event. This is the book's first part.

The book is not only the descriptions of spots and people he has visited. Ray keeps in mind many historical events and facts related to Russia. He then tries to link those to the current realities of that country. In doing this, Ray provides the readers with some historical anecdotes. It makes the account of the travel highly interesting. The writer tries to present as many detailed depictions as possible in the book. Most of them let the reader learn about his surge of emotion while visiting Russia.

The book is divided into 11 chapters. Readers will find it quite enjoyable as they go through Ray's account of the streets of Saint Petersburg or the river cruise on the Neva. Moreover, his description of Red Square in Moscow with two major landmarks --- Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral is equally enchanting. Ray also writes about the Japan-Poland match he has enjoyed at Volgograd Stadium. Though there are some photographs in the book, the writer could have added some more.  One hopes, he will do it in the second part of the book.