"With bare-bones arrangements and Simone’s powerful, poignant vocals at the forefront, the record burns through a collection of songs by Siberian punk-folk singer, Yanka Dyagileva, with cathartic fervor. Though the lyrics are in Russian, the emotions are raw and easily felt."
- By Conor McKay, National Public Radio (NPR) (Jul 18, 2008)
"Simone has done a great service in bringing these treasures to non-Russian audiences...her innovative versions reveal her many similarities to her heroine—most prominently, her haunting voice."
- New Yorker staff, The New Yorker (Apr 04, 2008)
"...an ebb and flow of restraint and clawing-at-the-chest outpouring—is beautiful and affecting. This is not one of those albums that can just sit in the background. You may think so at first, but Simone’s voice fills the room"
- Matthew Fiander, Popmatters (Aug 06, 2008)
"Simone’s interpretations are wonderfully dark and turbulent...she inhabits these intimate, brooding melodies with a smoldering intensity all her own."
- The Chicago Reader, The Chicago Reader (Jul 19, 2008)