Brant Antonson has seen a Russia few foreigners have. Indeed, few Russians. This young Canadian ventured to Voronezh, eleven hours south of Moscow by train, to spend a year inside a country torn by strife, fresh into a new century, and struggling with the clash between history and future. Tasked with teaching English to students at one university, and then a second, his story is riddled with romance and deception, and punctuated with near disaster and disappointment. Antonson's candour and insights set Russia on the edge of failure and achievement – much like the students he educated, filled with a dash of hope and a lump of fear. His wit did as much to get him in trouble as it did to keep him out of it.

Brant Antonson is Canadian born, and has lived in Estonia and the United States as well as "a year inside" Russia. Antonson studied the Russian language as a young man, and visited Russia twice, falling in love with the land and the people. Then came the opportunity to teach English to students in Voronezh, unleashing a series of fortuitous and torturous events. Antonson has travelled from his earliest days, collecting life-changing experiences in Europe, Mongolia, 49 American states, across Canada, and China. His most recent adventures hail from North Korea. A series of his magazine articles on travelling the Trans-Siberian Railway was also translated and published in Russian. Antonson resides in Vancouver, Canada, and is working on his second book that will regale readers with tales from his circumnavigating the northern hemisphere by rail.

Contact the author at brantantonson@gmail.com.