Асан

The classic of modern Russian literature Vladimir Makanin "closes" the Chechen issue with his new novel "Asan". Mass stamps, cardboard superheroes, any speculation about the Chechen wars are a thing of the past. After Asan, only the truth remains. Each time has its own hero. Asan, the mythical commander who conquered peoples, is powerless in the modern geopolitical bazaar of petty profits. But there is no victory in war without a hero. The namesakes of the great conqueror - Sasha, Shurik and Alexandra, desperately unheroic guys - keep the world in balance. The action takes place on the territory of modern Chechnya during the first and second campaigns. The protagonist of the novel - Major Alexander Zhilin - does not fight, he just does business. His business is small: to supply fuel to the federals, or militants, to deliver cargo along a mountain road, to redeem a prisoner from the Chechens for a small commission. His landmarks are the call signs on the evening radio: "Asan wants blood" - that means the execution of the convoy is planned, or "Asan wants money" - an exchange can be agreed. Asan is an ancient pagan deity of the Caucasian peoples. According to one of the heroes of the book, its origin is connected with the campaigns of Alexander the Great. When the conqueror's army drove the locals high into the mountains, they invented their own hero - Asan, the great commander, conqueror of peoples. The novel was shortlisted for the Big Book 2008 award.