Nezavisimaya Gazeta
In 1999, [[Znamya]] published Shishkin's breakthrough novel "The Taking of Izmail". In 2000 the novel won [[Russian Booker Prize]] for the best Russian novel of the year. [[Nezavisimaya Gazeta|"Nezavisimaya gazeta"]] wrote: "A beautiful, powerful and fascinating book which will become a milestone not only in the history of Russian literature but in the development of Russian self-awareness."