The year is 2010, one generation removed from the disintegration of the Soviet empire. Outdoor journalist Mike Pehanich joins globe-trotting angler and tackle innovator Patrick Sebile to cover Zander Troffee. Dubbed the "Bassmaster Classic of Russia," it is Russia's largest and most prestigious sportfishing tournament. In the company of Russia's top anglers, he will fish the legendary Volga and Akhtuba rivers for zander, Euro-Asian cousin to the walleye, and other river denizens and observe an angler crusade to instill awareness of a burgeoning conservation crisis.
But the journey proves to be much more as sportsmen reveal a Russia still struggling to shake its Soviet past and gain 21st century footing.
A blend of memoir, travelogue, analysis, history and fish tale, River at Risk carries readers down the historic Volga River recalling the barge-hauling burlaki, cataclysmic floods and ancient river leviathans, bringing to light the bounty and vulnerability of its fabulous fishery along the way.
The journey captures enduring images -- a haunting glimpse of the city of Astrakhan, a surprising Moscow bursting with neon life, the extravagance of a Stalin-inspired hotel, the stark utility of Khrushchev-inspired apartments. Vivid characters brighten the narrative -- Marat, resort owner, hunter and marksman with a "special ops" past; "the famous Sasha," zander guide; talented Russian anglers, reborn with their new-found freedom to fish; and the dedicated staff of a thriving Russian fishing magazine.
Revelation comes at surprising turns, as when the author traces the birth of modern Russia's fishing tackle industry back to its roots in government-run factories and the gumption of early entrepreneurs who gained a running start in the dying days of the Soviet Union. Freedom, too, hunts for balance as conservation conscience confronts the reality of poverty and need.
Through patient and probing narrative, the author peels away layers of Russia's largely untold tale, its transition from communism to a market economy - from the people's point of view.
River at Risk is a sportsman's ramble through a little-known Russia with detours through its near and distant past. It captures a rare glimpse of those brief halcyon years between the Cold War and the Ukraine War - when the world appeared to be at the brink of lasting peace!
