"I traveled through the Caucasus like a perfect vagabond, one who]
seeks to know the world and its people as they are and, in order to
acquire that knowledge, is ready to become all things with all men
and to make himself equally at home in all places. In this sense of
the word I do not hesitate to avow myself a vagabond of the most
pronounced type."
George Kennan (1845--1924) was a pioneering explorer, writer,
and lecturer on Russia in the nineteenth century, the author of
classic works such as "Tent Life in Siberia" and "Siberia and the
Exile System," and great-uncle of George Frost Kennan, the noted
historian and diplomat of the Cold War.
In 1870, Kennan became the first American to explore the
highlands of Dagestan, a remote Muslim region of herders,
silversmiths, carpet-weavers, and other craftsmen southeast of
Chechnya, only a decade after Russia violently absorbed the region
into its empire. He kept detailed journals of his adventures, which
today form a small part of his voluminous archive in the Library of
Congress. Frith Maier has combined the diaries with selected
letters and Kennan's published articles on the Caucasus to create a
vivid narrative of his six-month odyssey.
The journals have been organized into three parts. The first
covers Kennan's journey to the Caucasus, a significant feat in
itself. The second chronicles his expedition across the main
Caucasus Ridge with the Georgian nobleman Prince Jorjadze. In the
final part, Kennan circles back through the lands of Chechnya to
slip once again into the Dagestan highlands.
Kennan's remarkable curiosity and perception come through in
this lively and accessible narrative, as does his humor at the
challenges of his travels.
In her Introduction, Maier discusses Kennan's illustrious career
and his reliability as an observer, while providing background on
the Caucasus to help clarify Kennan's descriptions of daily life,
religion, etiquette, customary law, and local government. In an
Afterword, she retraces Kennan's steps to find descendants of
Prince Jorjadze and describes her work in coproducing, with
filmmaker Christopher Allingham, a documentary inspired by Kennan's
Caucasus journey.
Frith Maier shares Kennan's adventurous spirit; she became
interested in his writings as a student of Russia and went on to a
career in adventure travel herself. She is the author of "Trekking
in Russia and Central Asia: A Travelers Guide." She lives in
Seattle. Additional contributions have been provided by Daniel C.
Waugh, professor of history and international studies at the
University of Washington.
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