Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov is a Ukrainian author and public intellectual who writes in Russian and Ukrainian. He is the author of 19 novels, including the bestselling Death and the Penguin, nine books for children, and about 20 documentary, fiction and TV movie scripts.
While innumerable diaries—both journalistic and civilian—written during the current Russo-Ukrainian War have been published, very few manage to capture the fusion of individual life with the socio-political changes and upheaval Russia’s full-scale invasion swiftly delivered to Ukrainians. However, Andrey Kurkov’s Our Daily War—the third chronological log about the war that Kurkov has published since 2014—is not like other war diaries. While Serhiy Zhadan’s Sky Above Kharkiv captures the sweeping patriotism and social media influence that gripped Ukraine during the war’s initial days, Kurkov’s Our Daily War provides readers with an inside look at how the war’s longstanding effects politically, socially, and financially on Ukrainians across the globe.
One of the central themes of Our Daily War is the necessity for the arts during wartime. Excerpts such as “Poetry and Other Forms of Torture” highlight Ukraine’s historical relationship with its poets and writers. Kurkov writes, “‘Posthumous journeys’ are once again a sad hallmark of Ukrainian burial culture.” He explicates the various burials of Ukraine’s national poet, Taras Shevchenko, who “was first buried in St. Petersburg” and was then “exhumed and, in accordance with his wishes, taken to Kyiv.” Ukraine’s celebrations of its poets and writers frequently astounds global audiences, and Kurkov’s entry reminds readers that Ukraine’s spirit “is kept alive by the souls of dead writers and poets” and that Ukrainians “still feel supported by the souls of Taras Shevchenko and Vasyl Stus.” Kurkov carefully ties Ukraine’s relationship with poetry and other forms of literature with its culture. However, this relationship also transfers into their relationship with their land and landscapes.
Kurkov defines culture as “the most obvious connection between an individual and the land on which he or she lives.” He focuses on how the destruction of a culture results in people no longer having “anything to do with the country, or with the land.” More significantly—and most importantly for Western readers—Kurkov reminds readers that Ukrainian culture “has always been an island” and “at times a surprisingly small island” one “so small it was in danger of disappearing.” Nonetheless, the preservation methods Ukrainians utilize in order to protect and maintain Ukrainian language and traditions transfer into how they attempt to protect and preserve fragile environmental spaces. One of Our Daily War’s most hopeful—and inspiring—passages is Kurkov’s detailed explanation of DTEK’s (Ukraine’s largest energy provider) Lelechenki project. The Lelechenki project aims to protect the nests of one of Ukraine’s most important ornithological symbols—the white stork. When villagers notice an unstable stork nest, they can call an electrician team, which will move the nest to a metal platform so that it is safely placed above the high electrical cables. Kurkov’s focus on such environmental practices shows that Ukrainians are invested in protecting all aspects of Ukrainian life, and when Kurkov writes, “Culture, music, film and literature have special responsibilities,” he means that these special responsibilities extend to the natural world as well.
Our Daily War adeptly tackles the identity issues which emerged for Ukrainians not only during the most recent invasion, but since 2014 when Russia first annexed parts of eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Kurkov notes, “The issue of self-identification has become one of the main themes of public discussion.” Since the 2022 full-scale invasion, more and more Ukrainians are taking an interest in Ukrainian history, classical Ukrainian literature, and modern Ukrainian poetry. He adds, “The process of Ukrainisation is now unstoppable” and “Ukrainianness has become a powerful weapon” in the defence of Ukraine. Kurkov, who frequently finds himself at the center of these self-identification debates because Russian is his native language and he is of Russian origin, admits that if people overlook those characteristics, he comes “out as an ideal Ukrainian who could be enthusiastically welcomed into the fold of ideal Ukrainians.” In essence, Kurkov simplifies his—and other Ukrainians’—quandary as best as he can:
I live in a beautiful country with a complex character and complex history, where
each citizen has his or own image of the Ukrainian state in their head and
everyone considers their image to be the correct one. In other words, we are a
society of individualists.
It is this inherent individualism that leads Ukraine to champion and foster “freedom of expression and championing diversity,” which has the potential to act as a “unifying force” for all Ukrainians as they embark on the “post-war future” path.
The entries in this book act as well-framed snapshots into the daily lives of civilians, politicians, and defenders. Most of all, Kurkov shows readers who may be both familiar and unfamiliar with Ukraine its literal and metaphorical beauty. Simultaneously, his writings show how Ukraine’s labyrinthine relationships with Russia and the other nations surrounding it inform its existence today. More so, Kurkov effectively weaves Ukrainian history with the myriad of current events that have brought a nation and its brave people into global headlines. The war will continue, and the necessity of publishing works like Our Daily War will prove even more pressing. With Our Daily War, Andrey Kurkov establishes himself as not only one of Ukraine’s greatest writers but also as one of its greatest warriors.
Our Daily War by Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov can be purchased here:
Nicole Yurcaba (Нікола Юрцаба) is a Ukrainian American of Hutsul/Lemko origin. A poet and essayist, her poems and reviews have appeared in Appalachian Heritage, Atlanta Review, Seneca Review, and Ukraine’s Euromaidan Press. Nicole holds an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University, teaches poetry workshops for Southern New Hampshire University, and is the Humanities Coordinator at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. She also serves as a guest book reviewer for Sage Cigarettes, Tupelo Quarterly, Colorado Review, and Southern Review of Books.
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