Author: Andrey Kurkov
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a series of diaries written by Andrey Kurkov, a Russian-Ukrainian writer (ethnically Russian but identifying as Ukrainian). The time it covers spans the end of 2013 through the beginning of 2014, around the time Russia annexed Crimea and pro-European protesters started to gather in the Maidan in Kiev.
The book recounts his experience with and thoughts on the political situation, though it is interlaced with snippets of his day-to-day family life including interactions with friends, family and his children.
It was an interesting insight into life in Ukraine at the time the diaries were written, which matter very much in the context of what is going on there today. What I found incredible was the odd normalcy that settled in even as barricades were erected around Kiev and the fight over Crimea began. The author’s tone throughout the book conveys almost a sense of banality despite the events happening in the city around him.
As these diaries were written almost a decade before the most recent Russian invasion, there is no urgency to his writing. He is not a political protestor, though he does seem to sympathise with the protesters in the Maidan in a way that seems would be typical of most Ukrainians who lived with the corruption of successive generations of post-Soviet politicians.
Given the current context, it’s an insightful snapshot of a series of events that fits into a much larger picture of the relationship between Ukraine and Russia.
The Kat Bite 