09 Nov 06
Just before we reach Yekaterinburg, our final destination, we make a small detour. I've been tipped off by a Russian friend that I should pay a visit to a cemetery on the outskirts of town, but he wouldn't tell me why. 'You'll see as soon as you walk through the gate,' he said.
And I do. In the first years after the Soviet system collapsed, Yekaterinburg was the scene of a brutal turf war between rival mafia groups. The death toll was horrendous and though things have calmed down now, evidence of this bloody period lingers on in the cemetery where a row of gangster graves display life-sized carvings of the Goodfellas who got whacked. Most prominent of all is a huge gravestone right by the entrance where an imposing figure in an expensive suit scowls down at you from eternity. Look closely and in his hand you'll see a Mercedes-Benz key fob, suggesting that maybe you can take it with you after all.
My trip through Russia has been fascinating and part of me wants to keep on driving east - after all, we're barely a quarter of the way across this enormous country. But looking up at that deathless scowl again, maybe it is time to hand over the keys after all.
Follow the rest of the journey on 4Car throughout November
