Rarely does history speak with such shocking voices simultaneously: In "The End of the Red Man," her latest novel-chronicle, Svetlana Alexievich depicts through the testimonies of dozens of people the transition from the "empire" of the USSR to today's capitalist Russia. Brilliant paths alongside tragic destinies, loves as well as deaths, enthusiasm and bitterness – the human fate in this book is not something vague: The overwhelming developments that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union are reflected in the lives of individual people, who, with authentic, sincere accounts, remind us what "interesting" political developments can really mean for each person individually.

Twenty years of history, from the early 1990s to 2012, in the memories of women and men of all ages and political shades leave no room for the reader to lean toward one side or the other: The fate of each of them inspires awe and respect. "The End of the Red Man is Alexievich's most extensive and ambitious experiment: an attempt to use oral history from the 1990s to understand Soviet and post-Soviet identity." The New Yorker

"In her books, we meet protagonists for whom historians usually speak in the plural: soldiers, concentration camp prisoners, Stalinists. Alexievich gives faces to these groups." Carmen Eller, Die Zeit

"Just as the philosopher and Russia expert Leibniz once described Russians as 'baptized bears,' Alexievich poses the sacrilegious question of whether her compatriots are capable of responding to freedom. The answers are mostly shocking, especially regarding the younger, hyper-consumer generation." Katrin Hillgruber, Der Tagesspiegel

"'Suicide as an individual phenomenon has always existed in Russia. But at times, it has become a social phenomenon,' wrote philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev. And Svetlana Alexievich adds: 'and a political phenomenon.'" Fragkiske Abatzopoulou

"A powerful and painful document, by no means unambiguous, although it is clear that Svetlana Alexievich has distanced herself from the communist ideals of her youth." Jean-Marie Chauvier, Le Monde Diplomatique

Cover photo: Woman with Soviet flag during the celebration of the anniversary of the October Revolution, Minsk, Belarus. (©AndreiLiankevich, 2014).