September 1 thru September 11 Moscow to Vladivostok Gary and Lisa arrive in Vladivostok and begin the adventure. A visit to an ancient lighthouse, a search for friendly fishermen, and a day with Vladivostok's "novi Russki."
September 12 and September 13 Vladivostok to Khabarovsk Lisa and Gary hit the road in style (if not comfort) in a Soviet-made Kamaz cargo truck. The highway is long, bumpy, and occasionally clogged with crossing cows, but many hours and very little sleep later, they arrive in Khabarovsk, dirty, tired, but intact.
September 14 and September 17 Khabarovsk Lisa and Gary get an inside glimpse of the new post-Soviet business world, and hit the tree-lined streets of Khabarovsk to ask about the upcoming presidential elections.
September 18 thru September 25 Birobidzhan Gary and Lisa travel to Birobidzhan, capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region, to find out whether local Jewish culture survived the Soviet era. Five days into their stay, the local authorities come knocking on doors looking for the "illegal Americans", who don't have the city stamped in their visas.
September 26 thru October 1 Chita After a two day train journey, Gary and Lisa go afoot to take a detailed look at Lenin Street, Chita's main thoroughfare. They also get a portion of their 15 minutes of fame when a local TV crew interviews them for a segment on the nightly news show "Express Information."
October 2 thru October 9 Ulan Ude Lisa and Gary travel to a tiny Buryat village outside Ulan-Ude with only a letter of introduction written in Buryat to guide them. A family of farmers takes them in, introducing them to traditional Buryat customs, religion, and cuisine, all of which involve vodka, and one of which is a bit hard to swallow at first...
October 10 thru October 16 Irkutsk and Lake Baikal Gary and Lisa join a scientific expedition to study fresh water marine life in Lake Baikal and help use the Web to bridge a gap between long seperated family members.
October 19 thru October 26 Novosibirsk After a two day train journey to Novosibirsk, Gary and Lisa meet up with two fellow journalists assigned to do stories on their trip. The pair look over Gary's and Lisa's shoulder while they attempt to photograph a story on Gay life in Novosibirsk.
October 28 thru October 31 Chelyabinsk Gary and Lisa travel to Chelyabinsk, a formerly closed city near the Urals. There they spend a day with the communists who gather on Revolution Square, and go home with one old Soviet patriot to see the few mementos of what he calls the better days.
November 1 thru November 8 Chelyabinsk to Kazan Gary and Lisa travel to Kazan in hopes of interviewing a soldier recently returned from Chechnya, but instead share a family's personal pain and grief. For Gary and Lisa, the long journey is almost over, and then on to Moscow!
November 9 thru November 15 Moscow Gary and Lisa arrive in Moscow, to find change surrounds them. The beginning Russia winter has gotten cold and grey, and the journey has begun to wear on them. However, the search for a good story brings them to one of Russia's premier "rappers" with a surprisingly spirtual side.
November 16 thru November 25 St. Peterburg - Paris Gary and Lisa finally arrive in St. Petersburg, the end of The Russian Chronicles. For their final story, they search out five generations of one family spanning the upheaval, turmoil, triumph and tragedy of the past 100 years of Russian history. Soon, goodbyes are said, as Gary boards his flight back to Paris.