The novel is the ultimate bestseller in Georgia and is based on one of the most tragic events of the 1980s when seven young people hijacked an airplane in an attempt to escape from the Soviet Union. It was a reckless move at that time when even to think about escape was forbidden. The Soviet government sentenced most of them to death.

The public reaction was split. Some people would consider the young rebels as terrorists, whilst for others they were heroes.

Flight from the USSR allows the reader to closely follow the leading characters, and learn more about their motivations and aspirations. Jeans were a symbol of freedom at the time, as it was as rejected to wear as the idea of a free world.

The novel has been adapted for stage and is one of the most successful plays at Georgian Free Theater.

Quotation

"The book is not a canonization. Turashvili describes, colors and romanticises, but he does not condemn or glorify his characters anywhere. Flight from the USSR is a beautiful novel and it deserves a large readership."
(c) 8Weekly

"He is confident and the storytelling style of Turashvili is sober and direct. The reader does not remain untouched by his story."
(c) Literair Nederland