The Spirit-Wrestlers documents Marsden's journey in search of Russia's southern frontier, a place of pirates and religious exiles, not to mention restive natives. Marsden was inspired by accounts he read in the Lenin Library of dissident religious sects, particularly the Doukhobors or Spirit-Wrestlers, who once populated the Russian countryside. Sent into exile on the Southern Steppe and beyond to the Caucasus, these people helped establish Russian hegemony on its fragile borders even while their presents in far-off outposts helped keep things peaceful in the heartland. Marsden first sets off for Rostov-on-Don, Cossack capital and father of crime (one of the most oft repeated phrases in the book is that Odessa is the mother of crime and Rostov is the father). Cossacks were essentially pirate bands operating on a sea of grass while following their own rules. It is in this region that Marsden finds the first remnants of religious dissenters as well as a burgeoning population of Old Believers (essentially unreformed Russian Orthodox who refused to follow 17th century reforms).

But religion is not Marsden's only interest in southern Russia: he is also looking for the people who lived their first, like the Adyghe and the Ossetians. War with Georgia also causes issues, since his ultimate goal, the place where the Doukhobors burned their weapons in the face of conscription, lies in the present day republic. The author does an excellent job of showing just how un-Russian many of these frontier places are, especially closer to the Caucasus, through his experiences without ever saying anything. In my mind this is the sign of a good writer, and I will definitely be reading more Marsden in the future. Highly recommended. ( )