A History of Kepstowe Freight Services Ltd. : Trucking through the Iron Curtain

The long-haul overland run to the old Soviet Union, prior to Perestroika, Glasnost and the collapse of communism under Gorbachev back in the 1980s and 90s, has never really been documented in book form. Other than occasional tales of the difficulties involved, shared in pub conversations and passed by word of mouth to those interested enough to listen, these extraordinary journeys have remained largely unrecorded—until now.

While numerous books have been published about the 'Golden Era' of overland haulage to the Middle East, other frontiers were being quietly breached and explored by hauliers pursuing a different market. Sometimes known as the 'alternative Middle East', the overland routes into the old Soviet Union were just as gruelling on driver and machine as any trips to the Arabian Peninsula or Iran. The overbearing heat, arid climes and loneliness of the central Russian steppes could easily rival the desertification of Syria and Iraq, yet these pioneering journeys behind the Iron Curtain have never had their story recorded in print.

This book tells the story of Kepstowe Freight, one of the British companies pioneering these early journeys into the 'dark, scary' world of Soviet communism. Featuring mostly previously unseen photographs, it captures drivers' recollections about their escapades and adventures into a land rarely visited by western society, and their attempts at dealing with the inherent corruption, horrendous roads and unpredictable weather along the way. It goes on to show how exponentially rapidly the country changed after its 1990 collapse, with the accompanying culture shock to the populace and especially to the transport system.