There's an English novelist called Helen Dunmore who's also a Slavic historian. She's written a couple of historic novels, one fantastic one set during the siege of Leningrad. The work of actual Russians is invaluable, of course, but there's something to be gained from the observations of a knowledgeable outsider. I mean, the things I notice about Scotland after living here for most of my 20's are different from the things that local people might observe. Not better or worse, but there are some things which people become oblivious to when they've been surrounded by it all their lives.