C'e' chi si gode la vita, c'e' chi la soffre, invece noi la combattiamo. (antico detto Urca) (p. 3)

Lui (nonno Kuzja) mi ha ascoltato attentamente, poi mi ha sorriso e mi ha detto che io dovevo ripercorrere la strada del fratello maggiore di mio nonno, e cioe' andare a vivere da solo nei boschi, in mezzo alla natura, perche' ero troppo umano per vivere in mezzo agli uomini. (p. 319)

Non leggere:Lo so che non andrebbe fatto; Il cappello a otto triangoli e il coltello a scatto; Quando la pelle parla; Boris il macchinista. ( )

Da metà in poi l'ho trovato pesante, tutte le continue digressioni senza senso ancora devo capirle. Il libro si lascia leggere, ma fatico a credere che sia tutto vero. ( )

Since this book was debunked, I can't read it in good conscience. I wish Lilin well with his future endeavors.

Don't keep money in the house. ( )

Siberian Fabrication
Review of the Emblem Edition english translation paperback (2011) of the Italian language original "Educazione siberiana" (2009)

Some enjoy life, some suffer it, we fight it. - Old saying of the Siberian Urkas.

Such are the ways of the pandemic that in your search for variety you start pulling books from the shelves that you have never actually read before. I originally sought out Siberian Education (2011) when I heard that it was being made into a film with John Malkovich, one of my favourite actors. Unfortunately the film wasn’t that great, and then various articles also appeared which debunked the source autobiography as being an invention by author Nikolai Lilin. I put it aside then but picked it up again recently.

Despite the debunking, Lilin still has an entertaining way of telling his story, which is an extended fantasy which builds on various preconceived notions of mafia behaviour and urban myths about honour among thieves. The story goes from childhood through to young adulthood at a time when the Nicolai aka Kolima is drafted into the Russian Army, a story that is continued in Lilin's followup "Free Fall: A Sniper's Story from Chechnya."

Lilin's "Siberians" are a closely knit band of thieves called Urkas (presumably the word is derived from the Russian word урки (urki) for thief. They were supposedly deported from 1930's Siberia to the Transnistria region of Moldavia at a time when Stalin's deportations were actually proceeding in the opposite direction. In Transnistria they kept their former customs and criminal behaviours in apparent complete defiance of the pervasive communist totalitarian state. Various words, customs and philosophies are referred to as "Siberian" although they are obviously Russian in origin. So, for instance, it is called the "Siberian" Orthodox Church rather than the commonly understood Russian Orthodox Church.

Lilin certainly understood his audience and plays up all sorts of urban myths about robbing from the rich on behalf of the poor. There is also a distinct religious element to the band with almost all speeches delivered as prayers and requests for God's blessing on their activities. It was all convincing enough that authors such as Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting etc.) and Roberto Saviano (Gomorrah etc.) blurbed the book at the time of its original release.

Trivia and LInks
The main debunking article is the Russian language Tattooed Cranberries (2011) by Elena Chernenko. I see some references to English language debunking articles in other reviews.

I'm usually quick to note references to Uralic/Finno-Ugric peoples due to my Estonian heritage, so I couldn't help but notice this passage in Siberian Education:

Soon afterwards Zilya fell ill. Her condition deteriorated, and no medicine could cure her. So Svyatoslav took her to Siberia, to see an old shaman of the tribe of the Nency, a people of Siberian aborigines who had always had very close ties with the Siberian criminals, the Urkas.

The "Nencys" are the Nenets people of the Samoyedic branch of Uralic languages. "Nency" is a transliteration of the Russian word ненцы, which is usually transliterated as "Nentsy."
Pretending "close ties" to an shamanistic tribe seems like another way to add an aura of mysticism to Lilin's story of criminals. ( )