Four years after his escape from the Soviet Union in 1990, award-winning journalist and author Vitali Vitaliev went in search of surviving pockets of freedom, autonomy and self-government. He found eleven countries, each with a population of less than half a million, each one of them beautiful and each one described in this book with sparkling humour, wisdom, and an unmatchable sense of irony.

His travels take him to Liechtenstein, San Marino, Mount Athos, the Isle of Man, Luxembourg, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Andorra, Malta, Monaco and Seborga, and for some of his journey he is accompanied by his teenage son, who has his own perspective on the countries they visit.

‘Little is the light will be seen far in a murky night’ reads a proverb the author finds relevant. He talks about the ‘little light of freedom that kept us alive and warm in the murky totalitarian night… a light, even if small, means hope, and a little hope is better than no hope at all.’ This book is his exploration of the small lights shining from Europe’s mini states.