Drinking and Driving in Chechnya - Peter Gonda

A novel set during the 1990s collapse of the USSR and the war in Chechnya.  Some good description of life during that rough time. The portrait of corruption and how it works seems fairly accurate.  There are also some accurate details regarding Russian mafia gang culture.  The section where the main character ends up living in a black slum outside Washington D.C. is humorous at times.  Some of the story elements, though, seem a bit stereotypical in their portrayals.