A Branch of Sakura

Vsevolod Vladimirovich Ovchinnikov is an international journalist and writer who spent many years working in China, Japan, and England. A new direction in Russian journalism is associated with his name—the creation of a psychological portrait of foreign society. The author’s creative credo: "To convince the reader that you cannot measure another person’s life by your own yardstick; you cannot rely on the familiar value system and criteria, because they are by no means universal—just as the grammatical rules of our native language are not universal either."

In 1985, for these works, the author was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. In 2010, the President of the Russian Federation presented Vsevolod Ovchinnikov with the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland," 4th degree. "The Sakura Branch" and "The Roots of the Oak" are, and remain, a true masterpiece of Russian publicist writing. The astonishing vividness and imagery of the language, the remarkable depth of penetration into the original world of English and Japanese national culture captivate the reader and serve as a key to understanding foreign reality.

In Japan, "The Sakura Branch" became a bestseller, and English readers—skeptical about attempts by foreigners to figure out their national character—received "The Roots of the Oak" very favorably.