Jelle Brandt Corstius

Jelle Brandt Corstius (b. 1978) is a writer, Russia expert and travel-documentary maker. His last book, Ash in the Bag (2016), was nominated for NS Readers’ Prize (NS Publieksprijs). After making a name for himself on Dutch television with his travels in Russia, Brandt Corstius embarked on journeys through the Caucuses and India. His travels have also provided the inspiration for a number of his books, including Small Countries-Reports from the Caucuses (2009), From Moscow to Medan (2010) and From Bakoe to Batoemi (2012).

BAM

Een reis van niets naar niets

(Das Mag, 2019, 136 pagina's)

As a small boy with a curiosity for the world, Jelle Brandt Corstius spent countless hours daydreaming over his illustrated atlas. The map of Siberia, with its empty expanses and magical sounding villages, enchanted him. Did the people in Novy Urgal feel lonely, so far from the rest of the world? At the time, the Soviets were building an ambitious railway through the Siberian wilderness: the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM). Thirty years later, Jelle realises his childhood dream, in a very different Russia.