Eight Pieces of Empire

by Lawrence Scott Sheets

  My three younger sisters served as hands-off, no-pressure muse inspirationalists: Annie-Laurie Sheets Jankowski and her husband, Dr. Marcin Jankowski; Kristin Nicholson and her husband, Tom; and Valerie Robichaud and her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Robichaud; as well as my niece, Kristin-Annie Espinoza.

  I am deeply grateful to Gillian MacKenzie of the Gillian MacKenzie Agency, who was absolutely unbridled in her belief, even when mine wavered.

  Vanessa Mobley, my editor at Crown worked under great pressure and offered constant reassurance and support, as did her assistant, Stephanie Chan.

  Rachel Klayman of Crown understood from the start the time needed to complete the book.

  Michigan State University and Dr. Sherman Garnett, Dr. Folke Lindahl and his wife, Dr. Oumatie Marajh, Dr. Michael Schechter, and Dr. Norman Graham allowed me a degree of freedom that gave me time, space, and support to think and write.

  Author Thomas Goltz was good-humored with his five-a.m. phone calls to make sure I was up and working on the book; he was a well-needed war travel companion, possessing a keen eye as a brutally honest (even if rightfully opinionated) reader and adviser.

  Dr. Ronald Suny of the University of Michigan provided companionship, support, and advice. Dr. Andrew March of Yale University provided guideposts on the nature of, among other things, Uzbekistan.

  Thomas Dworzak of Magnum Photography offered great friendship, resilience, humor, help, and photo advice.

  Dr. Frank Ochberg provided immense personal support, as did Dr. John Funkhouser and the entire Funkhouser clan: Andrea, Sarah, Lisa, and Peter Funkhouser.

  Dr. Viktor Dmitriev and Mila Dmitriev helped in ways only they are capable of imagining, and supplied many details about their Leningrad lives that helped fill in missing fragments.

  James Bettinger and Dawn Garcia of Stanford University were always there to help. Thomas Dumstorf, John Karren, Thomas Jackson, Ariela Shapiro, and Masha Savchuk generously offered their time to review the manuscript and offer words of encouragement.

  Dr. Louise Arbour, Dr. Sabine Freizer, Alain Deletroz, Andrew Stroehlein, and Iskra Kirova of the International Crisis Group were gracious and patient through it all.

  From National Public Radio I wish to especially thank Irina Mikhailova, Boris Ryzhak, Kevin Beesley, Ivan Watson, Michael Sullivan, Bob Duncan, Steve Inskeep, Renee Montagne, Martha Wexler, Melissa Block, Lisa Simeone, Richard Gonzales, Michelle Keleman, Kitty Elsele, and Paul Brown.

  Eteri Chkadua offered patience, humor, and insistence during the last difficult months of writing. Many friends contributed in all sorts of ways, from knowledge to wisdom to camaraderie and support, including John Pollack, Lana and Dr. Henry Pollack, Dr. Alexander Rondeli, Dr. Aslan Dukayev, Dr. Robert Parsons, Nino Kirtadze, Mika Khruashvili, Richard Giragosian, Esma Khunchulia, Mike Payne, Nestan Nejiradze, Ninka Nejiradze, Sergiy Karazy, Eve Elden, Ekaterina Kuba, Magdalena Frichova, Sophia Elza, Alexis Rowell, Liam McDowall, Nino Ivanishvili, Martin Nesirky, George (Zhorra) Vardzelashvili, Mark Mullen, Dato Chikhvishili, Margarita Antidze, Petre Mamradze, Karina Khodikyan, Khalid Askerov, Hugh Pope, Natalia Amirejibi, Tom de Waal, Michael Ochs, Lado Pochkhua, Hasmik Mkrtchyan, Victoria Belyavskaya, David Mikautadze, Jan Lopatka, Nino Maglakelidze, Shahin Hajiyev, Richard Wallis, Dr. Asim Mollzade, Ada Trapsh, Zurab Smyr, Helena Bedwell, Vanora Bennett, Manon L’Oiseau, Natalie Nougayrède, Boris Eisenbaum, Nana Talakvadze, Georgina Prodhan, Seda Muradyan, Hussniye Babaeva, Terezie Taubelova, James Hill, Magda Nowakowska, Matthew Collin, Varvara Pakhomenko, Arkady Ostrovsky, Sergei Lazaruk, Gini Sikes, Robert D. Kaplan, Misha Glenny, Robert Finn, James Weimann, Helena Bedwell, Nick Ivanishvili, Natia Koiava and Tea Koiava, Steve LeVine, and Elizabeth Eagen.

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  LAWRENCE SCOTT SHEETS reported for National Public Radio for seven years and was NPR’s Moscow bureau chief from 2001 to 2005, covering the entire former USSR. He was Caucasus region bureau chief for Reuters from 1992 to 2000 and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University from 2000 to 2001. His work has been published in the Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times and has been heard on the BBC World Service, Public Radio International, and other news outlets. Sheets is currently South Caucasus project director of the International Crisis Group, focusing on Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.