Siberia

Awash in alcohol from the first pages to the last, Siberia describes the path of an ordinary young Russian across the desolation of the Siberian countryside and through the labyrinths of the Soviet system - from the construction site, to his military service in Mongolia, all the way to the psychiatric hospital where he was admitted after the death of his brother. Drawn entirely in pencil on paper, Siberia bears witness to the life of the Russian people.

Nikolaï Maslov was born in Novosibirsk (Siberia) in 1954. The grandson of an illiterate peasant massacred by the NKVD, Maslov took drawing lessons before being interned for alcoholism. While working as a night watchman, Maslov began drawing an autobiographical graphic novel. Invited in residence in Angoulême to complete his work, Maslov devoted a year to extending and deepening the themes in his work, eventually creating Siberia.