Ilya was born in the dark days of the Soviet Empire to parents who were soon killed by the government. He escapes his hometown to fight in the Afghan war, only to return home to his childhood sweetheart, Natasha. Forced to choose between her and the USSR's secret space program, he opts for patriotism and a journey to the stars. But when the Cold War ends, he gets stranded in space, forgotten amidst the chaos of the revolution back on Earth. But even worse trouble is brewing. Ilya must fight against Putin's Russia and the turbulence of late 1990s as he tries to find his beloved Natasha before it's too late. Crude, hilarious, and charming, Ilya Zamyatin is the most shocking new character in the literary world since George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman. This first volume of his darkly comic memoirs are as thrilling and shocking as they come.