Meier, a journalist who covered Russia for "Time" from 1996-2001, ventures far outside the Kremlin gates for this account of typical Russians since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He focuses his report on South, North, East and West: war-torn Chechnya; the industrial northern city of Norilisk; the forgotten island of forgotten Sakhalin; and progressive St. Petersburg. An insightful portrait much in the spirit of David Remnick's "Resurrection."  (RUS213, $28.95)