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War Diary
A monumental, deeply penetrating document of life in Kyiv during the first forty-one days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine The young artist and writer Yevgenia Belorusets was in her hometown of Kyiv when Putin’s “special military operation” against Ukraine began on the morning of February 24, 2022. With the shelling of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, and Kherson, the war with Russia had clearly, irreversibly “I thought, this has been allowed to happen, it is a crime against everything human, against a great common space where we live and hope for a future.” With power and clarity, the War Diary of Yevgenia Belorusets documents the long beginning of the devastation and its effects on the ordinary residents of Ukraine; what it feels like to interact with the strangers who suddenly become your “countrymen”; the struggle to make sense of a good mood on a spring day; the new danger of a routine coffee run. First published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel and then translated and released each day on the site ISOLARII (and on Artforum ), the War Diary had an immediate impact it was translated by an anonymous collective of writers on Weibo; read live by Margaret Atwood on International Women’s Day; adapted for an episode of This American Life on NPR; and brought to the 2022 Venice Biennale by President Zelensky as part of the pavilion “This is Defending Freedom.”
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 20, 2023
Everyone should read this, kids in school especially.
The first three months of the war in Ukraine.
And it's still going.....
The first three months of the war in Ukraine.
And it's still going.....
November 21, 2023
(The English review is placed beneath the Russian one)
Когда придёт боль, настоящая боль –
Вера уснёт и любовь не поможет.
Всё, что было тобой, всё, что ты звал душой,
Боль разрушит, боль уничтожит.
Я давно хотел прочитать подобную книгу, но всегда откладывал, т.к. находил в этой затеи что-то странное, ненормальное. Когда меня спросил один человек, стоит ли написать слова поддержки из России в украинский офис одной международной фирмы, я сказал что не нужно, ибо посчитал это неуместным, да и опасным. Да и что можно написать? «Извините, наше правительство стирает с лица земли вашу страну, но держитесь там». Что-то подобное происходит и с подобной литературой. Прочитать книгу для чего? Прочитать и ужаснуться? Даже ребёнок почувствует в этом предложении фальшь. Вы прочитали, как один кровавый палач утопил всю вашу страну в крови и ничего, не ужаснулись. Вернее, не настолько, чтобы не допустить подобного. Можно сделать вид, что ничего не происходит, что таких вот книг не существует и вообще, как пели БИ-2, «В багровых тонах расцвела паранойя/В соседней Вселенной случилась война». Поэтому я оставлю этой вопрос не отвеченным и перейду к самой книге. Единственное чем я дополню, это что я прочитал эту книгу за один вечер, ибо начав читать, я уже не смог отложить книгу, что случается со мной никогда.
В нескольких отзывах на эту книгу проскользнула фраза, суть которой в том, что эту книгу стоит прочитать детям, школьникам. Забавно, но именно такая мысль посетила и меня, когда я читал книгу. Сама книга небольшая, написана простым языком с использованием коротких предложений и она очень сбалансированная. Я хочу сказать, что книга читается одновременно и (психологически) тяжело и легко, т.е. тяжёлых моментов, которые бы вводили человека в депрессию, в книге не так много. Плюс к этому, она отлично раскрывает главную тему, т.е. описывает ощущения человека и первые мысли от первых дней войны. Мне кажется, это важно передать будущим поколениям, ибо современная литература либо всё излишне драматизирует, либо сводит всё к холодным фактам. В этом смысле, книга уникальна. И именно поэтому было бы хорошо, если бы эта книга попала в школьную программу (я говорю, не про Украину, разумеется).
Пересказывать ощущения человека, который чуть ли не буквально проснулся от звуков разрывающихся бомб, довольно бессмысленно, поэтому я этого делать не буду. Скажу лишь, что книга очень точно, в рамках возможного, передаёт эти ощущения. В книге не показана паника или истерика, которая может ассоциироваться с началом войны. Сначала неверие и отказ верить в такую абсурдность картины. Потом тревожные ожидания и рой разный мыслей. Потом действие. Любое действие, которое может отвлечь человека от роя вопросов. Возможно, именно это толкало многих людей на уборку районов попавших под артобстрел или помощь в доставке еды и медикаментов. Как пишет автор,
«People walked the streets, sometimes without a destination, just strolling to familiar or popular places».
Мне кажется, ходьба всегда использовалась, как активность позволяющая занять себя чем-то, а также утихомирить свои мысли. Ведь в противном случаи, придётся сидеть на одном месте, погрузившись в свои мысли. Такое одиночество ещё хуже, чем опасность погибнуть от артобстрела. Хотя, как пишет автор, в те дни город полностью опустел. Так что возможно мое предположение не верно. В любом случаи, я ясно увидел желание делать что-то (полезное). Возможно это патриотизм? Трудно сказать, так как для меня патриотизм всегда был «прибежищем для негодяев», следовательно, я не могу ни понять, ни разделить патриотические чувства, ни украинцев, ни американцев, ни тем более россиян. Но это и не важно. Важно не дать себе сойти с ума и наметить какой-то план. По крайне мере так я это увидел.
Наверно самое главное, это привыкание жить в среде, когда в любом момент может прилететь ракета. Хотя автор это напрямую не пишет, но это подразумевается, является «по умолчанию». Описание того что происходило с автором, её встречи и разговоры с людьми, показывает, что даже в самые тёмные времена люди не теряют оптимизма. Вера в лучшее – это то, что не даёт окончательно свихнуться. Наверно тут нужно отметить, что Киев не стал самой горячей точкой, как например, тот же Бахмут. Я хочу сказать, что если бы место действия был бы Бахмут или Мариуполь, то описание было бы намного более страшным и депрессивным. Однако именно такая книга лучше всего подходит для обычного гражданина, ибо обычный гражданин не хочет читать обо всём том дерьме и крови, что творилось в самых кровавых точках военных конфликтов. Это печалит, вводит в депрессию, лишает надежды и веры в человечество, в людей, в любовь, в конце концов. Я даже не говорю про христианскую веру, с его заветами «Не убий». Как у Noize MC: «Что там на тему «не убий», скрижали молчат —/ Наверное, замкнуло и перегорело что-то.»
Последнее что я хочу отметить, это отсутствие открытой враждебности к русским. Тема щекотливая, я знаю, и поэтому скажу, что именно из-за того, что в книге нет (открытых) обвинений в адрес всех русских, эта книга идеально подойдёт и для российских школ. В книге предоставлены голые факты, т.е. то, что автор видела своими глазами и поэтому пусть каждый прочитавший сделает свои собственные выводы. Автор не пытается выбить слезу у читателя, не пытается пробудить жалость в читателе и не пытается обвинить кого-то. Именно это и оглушает. Как кто-то заметил, если человек кричит, обвиняет и брызжет слюной, выносить это намного легче, нежели когда… предоставляются факты и ничего кроме фактов и твой мозг сам и только сам приходит к единственно верному выводу. Именно без убеждений и споров со стороны, без угроз, становится видна истинная картина, неудобная правда и неудобное прошлое.
I have wanted to read a book like this for a long time, but I always put it off because I found something strange and abnormal about it. When I was asked by one person whether one should write words of support from Russia to the Ukrainian office of an international firm, I said that it was not necessary because I considered it inappropriate and dangerous. And what can you write? "Sorry, our government is wiping your country off the face of the earth, but hang in there." Something similar happens with this kind of literature. Read such a book for what? Read it and be horrified? Even a child can sense the falsity in that sentence. You read how one bloody executioner (Stalin) drowned your whole country in blood and was not horrified. Or rather, not horrified enough to prevent that from happening. One can pretend that nothing happens, that such books don't exist. So, I will leave this question unanswered and move on to the book itself. The only thing I will add is that I read this book in one evening because once I started reading it, I could not put it down, which happened to me never.
In several reviews of this book, a phrase slipped through, the gist of which is that this book is worth reading to children and schoolchildren. Funny, but that was the thought that came to me when I was reading the book. The book (itself) is small, written in simple language using short sentences, and very balanced. I want to say that the book reads both (psychologically) hard and easy, i.e., there are not so many heavy moments that would make a person depressed. Plus, it perfectly reveals the main theme, i.e., it describes a person's feelings and (first) thoughts from the first days of the war. I think this is important to pass on to future generations because modern literature either over-dramatizes everything or reduces everything to cold facts. In this sense, the book is unique. And that's why it would be good if this book could be included in the school program (I'm not talking about Ukraine, of course).
It would be pointless to recount the feelings of a person who almost literally woke up to the sound of bombs exploding, so I won't do it. I will only say that the book conveys these feelings very accurately, within the limits of what is possible. The book does not show the panic or hysteria that one might associate with the outbreak of war. First, the disbelief and refusal to believe in such absurdity of the picture. Then, anxious expectations and a swarm of miscellaneous thoughts. Then, action. Any action that could distract a person from the swarm of questions. Perhaps this is what pushed many people to clean up areas hit by shelling or help deliver food and medicine. As the author writes,
«People walked the streets, sometimes without a destination, just strolling to familiar or popular places».
It seems to me that walking has always been used as an activity to keep yourself busy and to quiet your thoughts. Otherwise, you have to sit in one place, immersed in your thoughts. Such loneliness is even worse than the danger of being killed by shelling. However, as the author writes, in those days the city was completely deserted. So, maybe my assumption is wrong. In any case, I clearly saw the desire to do something (useful). Perhaps it is patriotism? It's hard to say because, for me, patriotism has always been "the last refuge of the scoundrel," therefore, I can neither understand nor share patriotic feelings, neither Ukrainians nor Americans, much less Russians. But that is not important. It's important not to let oneself go crazy and set some sort of plan. At least, that's how I saw it.
Probably the most important thing is getting used to living in an environment where a missile can come at any moment. Although the author does not write this directly, it is implied by default. The description of what happened to the author, her encounters, and conversations with people, show that even in the darkest times, people do not lose optimism. Believing in the best is what keeps one from going completely insane. It should probably be noted that Kyiv was not the hottest spot, like Bakhmut, for example. I mean, if the place of action had been Bakhmut or Mariupol, the description would have been much more scary and depressing. However, this is the kind of book that is best suited for the average citizen because the average citizen doesn't want to read about all the shit and blood that went on in the bloodiest points of military conflicts. It saddens, depresses, and deprives one of hope and faith in humanity, in people, in love, in the end. Not to mention the Christian faith, with its "Thou shalt not kill" precepts.
The last thing I want to point out is the lack of open hostility towards Russians. It's a touchy subject, I know, and so I will say that precisely because there are no (open) accusations against all Russians in the book, this book is perfect for Russian schools as well. The book provides the bare facts, i.e., what the author saw with her own eyes, so let everyone who reads it draw their own conclusions. The author doesn't try to wring a tear from the reader, doesn't try to evoke pity in the reader, and doesn't try to blame anyone. That's what's staggering. As someone noticed, if a person shouts, accuses, and sputters, it is much easier to bear it than when... facts and nothing but facts are provided, and your brain itself and only itself comes to the only right conclusion. Precisely because there is no persuasion or arguing from the outside, no threats, the true picture, the inconvenient truth, and the uncomfortable past becomes visible.
Когда придёт боль, настоящая боль –
Вера уснёт и любовь не поможет.
Всё, что было тобой, всё, что ты звал душой,
Боль разрушит, боль уничтожит.
Я давно хотел прочитать подобную книгу, но всегда откладывал, т.к. находил в этой затеи что-то странное, ненормальное. Когда меня спросил один человек, стоит ли написать слова поддержки из России в украинский офис одной международной фирмы, я сказал что не нужно, ибо посчитал это неуместным, да и опасным. Да и что можно написать? «Извините, наше правительство стирает с лица земли вашу страну, но держитесь там». Что-то подобное происходит и с подобной литературой. Прочитать книгу для чего? Прочитать и ужаснуться? Даже ребёнок почувствует в этом предложении фальшь. Вы прочитали, как один кровавый палач утопил всю вашу страну в крови и ничего, не ужаснулись. Вернее, не настолько, чтобы не допустить подобного. Можно сделать вид, что ничего не происходит, что таких вот книг не существует и вообще, как пели БИ-2, «В багровых тонах расцвела паранойя/В соседней Вселенной случилась война». Поэтому я оставлю этой вопрос не отвеченным и перейду к самой книге. Единственное чем я дополню, это что я прочитал эту книгу за один вечер, ибо начав читать, я уже не смог отложить книгу, что случается со мной никогда.
В нескольких отзывах на эту книгу проскользнула фраза, суть которой в том, что эту книгу стоит прочитать детям, школьникам. Забавно, но именно такая мысль посетила и меня, когда я читал книгу. Сама книга небольшая, написана простым языком с использованием коротких предложений и она очень сбалансированная. Я хочу сказать, что книга читается одновременно и (психологически) тяжело и легко, т.е. тяжёлых моментов, которые бы вводили человека в депрессию, в книге не так много. Плюс к этому, она отлично раскрывает главную тему, т.е. описывает ощущения человека и первые мысли от первых дней войны. Мне кажется, это важно передать будущим поколениям, ибо современная литература либо всё излишне драматизирует, либо сводит всё к холодным фактам. В этом смысле, книга уникальна. И именно поэтому было бы хорошо, если бы эта книга попала в школьную программу (я говорю, не про Украину, разумеется).
Пересказывать ощущения человека, который чуть ли не буквально проснулся от звуков разрывающихся бомб, довольно бессмысленно, поэтому я этого делать не буду. Скажу лишь, что книга очень точно, в рамках возможного, передаёт эти ощущения. В книге не показана паника или истерика, которая может ассоциироваться с началом войны. Сначала неверие и отказ верить в такую абсурдность картины. Потом тревожные ожидания и рой разный мыслей. Потом действие. Любое действие, которое может отвлечь человека от роя вопросов. Возможно, именно это толкало многих людей на уборку районов попавших под артобстрел или помощь в доставке еды и медикаментов. Как пишет автор,
«People walked the streets, sometimes without a destination, just strolling to familiar or popular places».
Мне кажется, ходьба всегда использовалась, как активность позволяющая занять себя чем-то, а также утихомирить свои мысли. Ведь в противном случаи, придётся сидеть на одном месте, погрузившись в свои мысли. Такое одиночество ещё хуже, чем опасность погибнуть от артобстрела. Хотя, как пишет автор, в те дни город полностью опустел. Так что возможно мое предположение не верно. В любом случаи, я ясно увидел желание делать что-то (полезное). Возможно это патриотизм? Трудно сказать, так как для меня патриотизм всегда был «прибежищем для негодяев», следовательно, я не могу ни понять, ни разделить патриотические чувства, ни украинцев, ни американцев, ни тем более россиян. Но это и не важно. Важно не дать себе сойти с ума и наметить какой-то план. По крайне мере так я это увидел.
Наверно самое главное, это привыкание жить в среде, когда в любом момент может прилететь ракета. Хотя автор это напрямую не пишет, но это подразумевается, является «по умолчанию». Описание того что происходило с автором, её встречи и разговоры с людьми, показывает, что даже в самые тёмные времена люди не теряют оптимизма. Вера в лучшее – это то, что не даёт окончательно свихнуться. Наверно тут нужно отметить, что Киев не стал самой горячей точкой, как например, тот же Бахмут. Я хочу сказать, что если бы место действия был бы Бахмут или Мариуполь, то описание было бы намного более страшным и депрессивным. Однако именно такая книга лучше всего подходит для обычного гражданина, ибо обычный гражданин не хочет читать обо всём том дерьме и крови, что творилось в самых кровавых точках военных конфликтов. Это печалит, вводит в депрессию, лишает надежды и веры в человечество, в людей, в любовь, в конце концов. Я даже не говорю про христианскую веру, с его заветами «Не убий». Как у Noize MC: «Что там на тему «не убий», скрижали молчат —/ Наверное, замкнуло и перегорело что-то.»
Последнее что я хочу отметить, это отсутствие открытой враждебности к русским. Тема щекотливая, я знаю, и поэтому скажу, что именно из-за того, что в книге нет (открытых) обвинений в адрес всех русских, эта книга идеально подойдёт и для российских школ. В книге предоставлены голые факты, т.е. то, что автор видела своими глазами и поэтому пусть каждый прочитавший сделает свои собственные выводы. Автор не пытается выбить слезу у читателя, не пытается пробудить жалость в читателе и не пытается обвинить кого-то. Именно это и оглушает. Как кто-то заметил, если человек кричит, обвиняет и брызжет слюной, выносить это намного легче, нежели когда… предоставляются факты и ничего кроме фактов и твой мозг сам и только сам приходит к единственно верному выводу. Именно без убеждений и споров со стороны, без угроз, становится видна истинная картина, неудобная правда и неудобное прошлое.
I have wanted to read a book like this for a long time, but I always put it off because I found something strange and abnormal about it. When I was asked by one person whether one should write words of support from Russia to the Ukrainian office of an international firm, I said that it was not necessary because I considered it inappropriate and dangerous. And what can you write? "Sorry, our government is wiping your country off the face of the earth, but hang in there." Something similar happens with this kind of literature. Read such a book for what? Read it and be horrified? Even a child can sense the falsity in that sentence. You read how one bloody executioner (Stalin) drowned your whole country in blood and was not horrified. Or rather, not horrified enough to prevent that from happening. One can pretend that nothing happens, that such books don't exist. So, I will leave this question unanswered and move on to the book itself. The only thing I will add is that I read this book in one evening because once I started reading it, I could not put it down, which happened to me never.
In several reviews of this book, a phrase slipped through, the gist of which is that this book is worth reading to children and schoolchildren. Funny, but that was the thought that came to me when I was reading the book. The book (itself) is small, written in simple language using short sentences, and very balanced. I want to say that the book reads both (psychologically) hard and easy, i.e., there are not so many heavy moments that would make a person depressed. Plus, it perfectly reveals the main theme, i.e., it describes a person's feelings and (first) thoughts from the first days of the war. I think this is important to pass on to future generations because modern literature either over-dramatizes everything or reduces everything to cold facts. In this sense, the book is unique. And that's why it would be good if this book could be included in the school program (I'm not talking about Ukraine, of course).
It would be pointless to recount the feelings of a person who almost literally woke up to the sound of bombs exploding, so I won't do it. I will only say that the book conveys these feelings very accurately, within the limits of what is possible. The book does not show the panic or hysteria that one might associate with the outbreak of war. First, the disbelief and refusal to believe in such absurdity of the picture. Then, anxious expectations and a swarm of miscellaneous thoughts. Then, action. Any action that could distract a person from the swarm of questions. Perhaps this is what pushed many people to clean up areas hit by shelling or help deliver food and medicine. As the author writes,
«People walked the streets, sometimes without a destination, just strolling to familiar or popular places».
It seems to me that walking has always been used as an activity to keep yourself busy and to quiet your thoughts. Otherwise, you have to sit in one place, immersed in your thoughts. Such loneliness is even worse than the danger of being killed by shelling. However, as the author writes, in those days the city was completely deserted. So, maybe my assumption is wrong. In any case, I clearly saw the desire to do something (useful). Perhaps it is patriotism? It's hard to say because, for me, patriotism has always been "the last refuge of the scoundrel," therefore, I can neither understand nor share patriotic feelings, neither Ukrainians nor Americans, much less Russians. But that is not important. It's important not to let oneself go crazy and set some sort of plan. At least, that's how I saw it.
Probably the most important thing is getting used to living in an environment where a missile can come at any moment. Although the author does not write this directly, it is implied by default. The description of what happened to the author, her encounters, and conversations with people, show that even in the darkest times, people do not lose optimism. Believing in the best is what keeps one from going completely insane. It should probably be noted that Kyiv was not the hottest spot, like Bakhmut, for example. I mean, if the place of action had been Bakhmut or Mariupol, the description would have been much more scary and depressing. However, this is the kind of book that is best suited for the average citizen because the average citizen doesn't want to read about all the shit and blood that went on in the bloodiest points of military conflicts. It saddens, depresses, and deprives one of hope and faith in humanity, in people, in love, in the end. Not to mention the Christian faith, with its "Thou shalt not kill" precepts.
The last thing I want to point out is the lack of open hostility towards Russians. It's a touchy subject, I know, and so I will say that precisely because there are no (open) accusations against all Russians in the book, this book is perfect for Russian schools as well. The book provides the bare facts, i.e., what the author saw with her own eyes, so let everyone who reads it draw their own conclusions. The author doesn't try to wring a tear from the reader, doesn't try to evoke pity in the reader, and doesn't try to blame anyone. That's what's staggering. As someone noticed, if a person shouts, accuses, and sputters, it is much easier to bear it than when... facts and nothing but facts are provided, and your brain itself and only itself comes to the only right conclusion. Precisely because there is no persuasion or arguing from the outside, no threats, the true picture, the inconvenient truth, and the uncomfortable past becomes visible.
January 1, 2024
A sobering diary account of the first 40 days of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Belorusets entries demonstrate the inspiring moments of community and humanity as many Ukrainians do all they can to help their neighbors and strangers. Time marches on even in the midst of war.
November 28, 2022
First published in the German newspaper Der Spiegel and then translated and released each day on the site ISOLARII, War Diary is written by Yevgenia Belorusets during the first forty-one days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I found an ARC of this book while working with Reader Services at my library and though I’ve been trying to read more nonfiction, I still find it a bit hard to get into. I flipped to the preface of this small book, read it, and immediately loved Yevegenia Belorusets’ voice and wanted to continue reading it. I finished this in a day. I was so fascinated by how Belorusets was describing what had happened in her hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine.
She brought up a lot of stuff I would have never thought of about a war in modern time with the internet. Such as the fact that the app that would alert them to places that have been striked won’t update things right away in case the wrong area or building was shelled and they would come back to attempt it again. Or how you have to be careful about posting videos or photos on social media, because even the slightest glimpse of something could alert the enemy to locations.
This also alerted me to how crazy it is to how well humans adapt and continue living, even in a warzone. Belorusets talks about grocery shopping and cafes opening back up once it was more “normal”.
Overall, this was an informative, personal collection of entries about the beginning days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and I can see this becoming something used in the classroom as study of these events happening.
I found an ARC of this book while working with Reader Services at my library and though I’ve been trying to read more nonfiction, I still find it a bit hard to get into. I flipped to the preface of this small book, read it, and immediately loved Yevegenia Belorusets’ voice and wanted to continue reading it. I finished this in a day. I was so fascinated by how Belorusets was describing what had happened in her hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine.
She brought up a lot of stuff I would have never thought of about a war in modern time with the internet. Such as the fact that the app that would alert them to places that have been striked won’t update things right away in case the wrong area or building was shelled and they would come back to attempt it again. Or how you have to be careful about posting videos or photos on social media, because even the slightest glimpse of something could alert the enemy to locations.
This also alerted me to how crazy it is to how well humans adapt and continue living, even in a warzone. Belorusets talks about grocery shopping and cafes opening back up once it was more “normal”.
Overall, this was an informative, personal collection of entries about the beginning days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and I can see this becoming something used in the classroom as study of these events happening.
Read
April 7, 2023Written by the ingenious Ukrainian writer Yevgenia Belorusets, this is a firsthand account of the attack on Kiev, a unique vantage point that chronicles individual experiences on the ground, such as coping mechanisms of resilience through community, and sudden onstrikes of tragedy of people killed through missile strikes during the course of their daily lives, such as mail postal workers delivering pension, zoo workers protecting animals, young children in kindergarten
August 19, 2023
Durch Bücher wie dieses schaffe ich es, bestimmte Emotionen in Worte gefasst zu lesen, die ich selber schwer zum Ausdruck bringen kann. Im "Anfang des Krieges" verarbeitet die Autorin die Eindrücke der Geschehnisse der russischen Invasion in der Ukraine seit dem 24 Februar 2022 in der Form von Tagebucheinträgen. Darin beschreibt sie die neue Realität, in welche das gesamte Land, sowie all dessen Bewohner versetzt wurden. Trotz der furchtbaren Ereignisse, schafft es die Autorin Situationen auf eine poetische Art und Weise zu beschreiben.
Als der Krieg zum ersten Mal begann, im Frühling 2014, war er noch ein Kind, so unerfahren, dass er sich noch ohne eigenes Geburtsdatum der Welt vorstellte. [...] In seinen ersten Lebenswochen gab es Tage, an denen ich immer wieder dachte: Vielleicht irre ich mich und es ist doch kein Krieg, bloß ein riesiger Fehler, der bald korrigiert werden und aus der Realität verschwinden wird.
S. 12
Es war wahnsinnig schwer und emotional für mich das Buch zu lesen, jedoch finde ich es wichtig, bei der Thematik des aktuellen Krieges, ukrainische Autoren zu unterstützen und ihre Geschichten weiter zu verbreiten. Die Besonderheit dieses Buches ist es, es original auf deutsch und übersetzt auf englisch lesen zu können, während die Autorin als Ukrainerin selber von den Geschehnissen vor Ort schildert, als ihre Familie und sie sich am Anfang des Krieges in Kyjiw befunden haben. Viele ausländische Journalisten machen sich nun an das Schreiben von Geschichten über die Ukraine, während meiner Meinung nach, nichts über die Schilderung der Begebenheiten von einer Person geht, die über die eigene Heimat schreibt.
Kiew unter Beschuss, verlassen von der ganzen Welt, die gerade bereit ist, die Ukraine aufzuopfern, in der Hoffnung, dass es den Aggressor für einige Zeit füttern und satt machen würde.
S. 17
Es wurden Umstände beschrieben und Fragen beantwortet, die mir selber oft gestellt werden und zu denen ich keine eindeutige Antworten hatte. Warum man weiterhin in Kyjiw bleibt, obwohl die Lage so gefährlich ist; wie innerhalb des Landes "Inseln des Friedens" existieren können, während in unmittelbarer Nähe bittere Kämpfe stattfinden; was es in einem ändert und bewegt, die Zerstörung durch den Krieg unmittelbar vor sich zu sehen und wie gewöhnliche Dinge so viel an Bedeutung gewinnen. Luxus bekommt eine neue Definition, wie zum Beispiel zu Hause, statt in dem Bunker zu frühstücken, oder einen Kaffee außerhalb von zu Hause trinken zu können . Ähnlich wie bei Andrey Kurkov's "Diary of an Invasion" , spürte ich eine nahe Verbindung mit dem Buch, da darin so viele Beschreibungen von meiner Heimatstadt, Kyjiw, enthalten waren.
Jeden Tag sehe ich, wie Kiew umsorgt, sauber gemacht, repariert wird. Neben allen zerschossenen, zerstörten Türen und Fenstern sehe ich Menschen mit Sperrholz, die die zerbrochenen Hüllen der Stadt zudecken und konservieren. Damit wir eines Tages an diesen Stellen wieder richtige Scheiben, Türen und Schaufenster installieren können.
S. 133
Ich war in einer der größten Unterführungen von Kiew, im Zentrum, an der Chreschtschatyk-Straße, in der Straße, wo ich den größten Teil meiner Kindheit verbracht habe. Alle Ausgänge wurden überwacht und die Unterführung, die immer voll mit kleinen Geschäften und eilig laufenden Menschen war, stand leer und speicherte die Geräusche des Krieges wie eine Muschel das Meeresrauschen.
S. 149
Meine einzige Kritik an das Buch wäre, dass die Rechtschreibung der Hauptstadt der Ukraine nicht durchgehend gleich behalten wurde. 41 mal wird es als als "Kyjiw" ausgeschrieben und 138 mal als "Kiew". Die erste Schreibweise wäre die korrekte, da es eine Transkription aus dem Ukrainischen, statt aus dem Russischen ist. Ähnlich wie der Name auf englisch als "Kyiv" und nicht "Kiev" geschrieben werden sollte, um Respekt gegenüber der eigenen Sprache des Landes zu zeigen. Man sollte sich dieses Details einfach bewusst sein, da das Buch ansonsten eine absolute Empfehlung meinerseits ist. Ich würde es jenen ans Herz legen, die auf der Suche nach einer authentischen Erzählung sind, wie es Ukrainern in der Hauptstadt am Anfang des Krieges gegangen ist. Ich war derart von dem Schreibstil der Autorin begeistert, dass ich gleich ein weiteres von ihr geschriebenes Buch bestellt habe, "Glückliche Fälle", welches ich hoffentlich auch bald lesen werde.
Weitere Rezensionen findet ihr auf meinem Blog: KHVBooks.com
March 18, 2023
Everyone should read this.
October 4, 2023
really wanted to read this after listening to the this american life adaptation, glad i did
December 16, 2025
It’s hard to read but easy to relate when you actually care. The feelings the author described in the first days of war were probably the feelings of anyone following the news. Mostly it was disbelief. Disbelief that it is happening. Disbelief that it is even possible. Disbelief that Ukraine was left alone.
Having read the book, I also read the reviews to see if my impressions are similar to the impressions of other readers. And while I could relate to a lot of opinions, some reviews were confusing at least. I guess lack of empathy is precisely the reason why we are what we are as humanity.
Having read the book, I also read the reviews to see if my impressions are similar to the impressions of other readers. And while I could relate to a lot of opinions, some reviews were confusing at least. I guess lack of empathy is precisely the reason why we are what we are as humanity.
Read
May 3, 2024Read for class.
May 1, 2025
As a literary form, the diary is like a string of pearls. Each pearl—each entry—encapsulates one story stemming from the available information and dynamically shifting moods and thoughts of a particular day. The themes and motifs emerge ‘organically’ as the author discovers them, together with the audience, and only upon retrospection. Unlike in fiction, the narrator and author are undeniably identical, forming an entity as unreliable as any of her readers. Belorusets is not an ‘unreliable narrator’ but rather a ‘narrator reliable to the best of her ability.’
The diary is thus also profusely personal. Where history slips into simplified narratives in which victims become mere statistics, the diary humanizes the individuals swept by historical events by offering intimate accounts of mundane realities. In other words, the diary exemplifies a strand of realism. Though told from a singular perspective (and thus lacking the diversity of view presented by Alexeievich or Ackermann & Gobert), the stories undergo minimal redaction (as the author and editor, one and the same, presumably publishes the entries shortly after writing) and consequently present an almost raw reality, especially when accompanied by unedited and unscripted photographs. Lastly, the diary form lacks a planned overarching narrative. It reminds the audience that (despite our constant narrativizing tendencies) our daily lives consist of chaotic causes and effects rather than clear stories.
Belorusets’ diary transcends its genre. For one, it disrupts the current historical narrative in which the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has largely faded into static at the back of the world’s consciousness after a mere two years. The early first-week entries showcase Belorusets’ utter fear and disbelief, as well as her hope that ‘the West’ must soon intervene—but today’s audience knows the first seven days of struggle merely precede a thousand more.
In this aspect, historical diaries resemble Greek tragedies, whose spectators repeatedly experience these stories despite knowing how they end. However, unlike Greek tragedies or similar works (such as ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’), Belorusets’ writing lacks catharsis. There is no conclusion; the diary is fresh, and its events are still unfolding. Today’s reader is stuck in double uncertainty. In narrative time, the author could perish any day with zero foreshadowing—in ‘real’ time, Ukraine could succumb just as unexpectedly, making the author’s work ever more relevant. Belorusets’ diaries humanize the shock of war and bring the past into the present. Humans (especially in modern times) tend to forget and blur the details of even recent events—the diary allows us to remember.
Reading Belorusets is painful, especially knowing the pain will only multiply and string together countless more pearls. Of all her fragments, “Follow Me On Instagram” perhaps best illustrates this feeling. The title feels unconventional, unpoetic, and almost ironic—a reminder that as cities disappeared and children died under Russian shelling, the world kept scrolling. The entry itself deals with intense fear and grief. Belorusets, holding onto hope, rationalizes (and refuses to believe) reality: “I no longer believe in the war! It simply can’t be, I thought. It isn’t true. What neighboring country bombs a city to rubble, in the twenty-first century?” Throughout the text, the author swings between borderline happy moments and situations that rupture her hopeful convictions. The refreshing trip to a store is immediately outweighed by a strip search and disturbing news about new victims, and the warm encounter with the journalist cannot eliminate Belorusets’ mental fog: “Then she told me her name. I can’t remember the name. I’ve been having a hard time concentrating lately.” Despite constant reminders of hardship, the author maintains her position (”I am sure that the world will not continue to just watch this”) and ends on a similarly resolute note: “There is no chance at all [that the Soviet empire will be restored].” Yet this staunch closing statement is not a purely positive outlook. Although Belorusets believes the USSR cannot return to what it once was, her diary proves that Russian oppression has taken on new forms—and even if the world retaliates against Putin’s aggression, the damage and death will linger.
_____________________
On Day 26, Belorusets captured the most striking of the few close-ups in her diaries. The photograph depicts a young mother fleeing Kyiv with her baby daughter. As if painted by Caravaggio, their faces are sculpted by contrast, emerging from darkness in stark dusklight.
The picture’s “rule of threes” compositionally guides its audience. The viewer first notices the underexposed negative space (which borders light and dark on the upper-left focal point). Then, the viewer’s attention immediately moves rightward to the mother’s pink-tinged eyes—presumably from the cold, tears, or both—and the bulging vein on her forehead. The woman’s expression is palpably tense yet absent; she yearns for her mother, her village, and her past while looking toward an uncertain future.
Her gaze directs the viewer to the embodiment of that future: her baby. The child clings to her mother, and the two figures almost blend into one whole—but simultaneously, the daughter plays a distinct role. She is adorned in bright colors, a soft pink hat and jacket, and directly confronts the audience with her piercing sunlit eye. Unlike her mother’s, the little one’s expression contains ambiguity; is she curious and blissfully unaware? Or afraid and distressed like her mum, despite not fully comprehending the weight of their situation? The baby, still bright, interrogates the viewers on behalf of all children of war—the innocent Ukrainians who will inherit broken families and wretched landscapes.
This interpretation coincides with Belorusets’ entries, in which she particularly laments young victims, baffled by how aggression targeted at children could ever be sold as justified or righteous.
However, Belorusets’ portrayal of the mother and child is also noteworthy on another level—as the witness to a reality that has become increasingly risky to depict. Throughout the latter half of her diary, the author struggles with the unintended consequences of her photographs. In this war, information sides with the Russian mogul, leaving Ukraine trapped between two grindstones. Without evidence and urgent cries for help, the aggressor further denies and suppresses the country—but any publicly released information (such as photography) may also turn against the underdog. For example, in this entry, she discusses the inadvertent destructive power of a single TikTok video. She later admits that “[p]ictures can be dangerous [and] reveal things without intending to” even if she only “wants to give an account, not with words, but with the irrefutable image.” To find balance, Belorusets begins taking “empty photographs,” which she deletes immediately upon creation—an action reminiscent of the buildings bombarded soon after construction or children born only to perish in the crossfire.
Once again, absence rather than presence characterizes the conflict: deleted photographs, city ruins, lost relatives and friends. Belorusets nevertheless tries to preserve their memory, if not through pictures, then through words; she addresses her subjects, friends, and family members by name and almost obsessively recounts the names of destroyed villages, cities, and communities. Yet only with the photograph can the audience imagine and remember the person behind a faceless name.
The diary is thus also profusely personal. Where history slips into simplified narratives in which victims become mere statistics, the diary humanizes the individuals swept by historical events by offering intimate accounts of mundane realities. In other words, the diary exemplifies a strand of realism. Though told from a singular perspective (and thus lacking the diversity of view presented by Alexeievich or Ackermann & Gobert), the stories undergo minimal redaction (as the author and editor, one and the same, presumably publishes the entries shortly after writing) and consequently present an almost raw reality, especially when accompanied by unedited and unscripted photographs. Lastly, the diary form lacks a planned overarching narrative. It reminds the audience that (despite our constant narrativizing tendencies) our daily lives consist of chaotic causes and effects rather than clear stories.
Belorusets’ diary transcends its genre. For one, it disrupts the current historical narrative in which the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has largely faded into static at the back of the world’s consciousness after a mere two years. The early first-week entries showcase Belorusets’ utter fear and disbelief, as well as her hope that ‘the West’ must soon intervene—but today’s audience knows the first seven days of struggle merely precede a thousand more.
In this aspect, historical diaries resemble Greek tragedies, whose spectators repeatedly experience these stories despite knowing how they end. However, unlike Greek tragedies or similar works (such as ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’), Belorusets’ writing lacks catharsis. There is no conclusion; the diary is fresh, and its events are still unfolding. Today’s reader is stuck in double uncertainty. In narrative time, the author could perish any day with zero foreshadowing—in ‘real’ time, Ukraine could succumb just as unexpectedly, making the author’s work ever more relevant. Belorusets’ diaries humanize the shock of war and bring the past into the present. Humans (especially in modern times) tend to forget and blur the details of even recent events—the diary allows us to remember.
Reading Belorusets is painful, especially knowing the pain will only multiply and string together countless more pearls. Of all her fragments, “Follow Me On Instagram” perhaps best illustrates this feeling. The title feels unconventional, unpoetic, and almost ironic—a reminder that as cities disappeared and children died under Russian shelling, the world kept scrolling. The entry itself deals with intense fear and grief. Belorusets, holding onto hope, rationalizes (and refuses to believe) reality: “I no longer believe in the war! It simply can’t be, I thought. It isn’t true. What neighboring country bombs a city to rubble, in the twenty-first century?” Throughout the text, the author swings between borderline happy moments and situations that rupture her hopeful convictions. The refreshing trip to a store is immediately outweighed by a strip search and disturbing news about new victims, and the warm encounter with the journalist cannot eliminate Belorusets’ mental fog: “Then she told me her name. I can’t remember the name. I’ve been having a hard time concentrating lately.” Despite constant reminders of hardship, the author maintains her position (”I am sure that the world will not continue to just watch this”) and ends on a similarly resolute note: “There is no chance at all [that the Soviet empire will be restored].” Yet this staunch closing statement is not a purely positive outlook. Although Belorusets believes the USSR cannot return to what it once was, her diary proves that Russian oppression has taken on new forms—and even if the world retaliates against Putin’s aggression, the damage and death will linger.
_____________________
“I noticed today, is the continuation of night: its darkness in the day. The light turns white and dense, prolonging the past. I felt today as if I were standing with one foot stuck in yesterday.”
On Day 26, Belorusets captured the most striking of the few close-ups in her diaries. The photograph depicts a young mother fleeing Kyiv with her baby daughter. As if painted by Caravaggio, their faces are sculpted by contrast, emerging from darkness in stark dusklight.
The picture’s “rule of threes” compositionally guides its audience. The viewer first notices the underexposed negative space (which borders light and dark on the upper-left focal point). Then, the viewer’s attention immediately moves rightward to the mother’s pink-tinged eyes—presumably from the cold, tears, or both—and the bulging vein on her forehead. The woman’s expression is palpably tense yet absent; she yearns for her mother, her village, and her past while looking toward an uncertain future.
Her gaze directs the viewer to the embodiment of that future: her baby. The child clings to her mother, and the two figures almost blend into one whole—but simultaneously, the daughter plays a distinct role. She is adorned in bright colors, a soft pink hat and jacket, and directly confronts the audience with her piercing sunlit eye. Unlike her mother’s, the little one’s expression contains ambiguity; is she curious and blissfully unaware? Or afraid and distressed like her mum, despite not fully comprehending the weight of their situation? The baby, still bright, interrogates the viewers on behalf of all children of war—the innocent Ukrainians who will inherit broken families and wretched landscapes.
This interpretation coincides with Belorusets’ entries, in which she particularly laments young victims, baffled by how aggression targeted at children could ever be sold as justified or righteous.
However, Belorusets’ portrayal of the mother and child is also noteworthy on another level—as the witness to a reality that has become increasingly risky to depict. Throughout the latter half of her diary, the author struggles with the unintended consequences of her photographs. In this war, information sides with the Russian mogul, leaving Ukraine trapped between two grindstones. Without evidence and urgent cries for help, the aggressor further denies and suppresses the country—but any publicly released information (such as photography) may also turn against the underdog. For example, in this entry, she discusses the inadvertent destructive power of a single TikTok video. She later admits that “[p]ictures can be dangerous [and] reveal things without intending to” even if she only “wants to give an account, not with words, but with the irrefutable image.” To find balance, Belorusets begins taking “empty photographs,” which she deletes immediately upon creation—an action reminiscent of the buildings bombarded soon after construction or children born only to perish in the crossfire.
Once again, absence rather than presence characterizes the conflict: deleted photographs, city ruins, lost relatives and friends. Belorusets nevertheless tries to preserve their memory, if not through pictures, then through words; she addresses her subjects, friends, and family members by name and almost obsessively recounts the names of destroyed villages, cities, and communities. Yet only with the photograph can the audience imagine and remember the person behind a faceless name.
December 28, 2022
Almost a year again Putin began his aggression against Ukraine. The fact that he wasn’t stopped and it continues is unbelievable.
The author provides first hand accounts of the first month of the war. It’s a sobering read, more honest and truthful than any new report.
Anyone who questions why Russia should be stopped need only to read a few chapters of this diary.
Thanks to Edelweiss and New Directions for the early copy.
The author provides first hand accounts of the first month of the war. It’s a sobering read, more honest and truthful than any new report.
Anyone who questions why Russia should be stopped need only to read a few chapters of this diary.
Thanks to Edelweiss and New Directions for the early copy.
April 19, 2023
This book took me a while. Sometimes things just come up that make books a longer journey. Reading about the first days of disbelief about the war and wartime in general is always an interesting but difficult exploration of the dark side of human nature. The blanket historical accounts tend to veer away from how personal the experience of war is. These are not numbers of casualties and displaced populations. These are stories of artists, teachers, sousing, parents, sisters… it will keep happening and until it affects us or we feel we can exact any change on an individual level, it will keep happening. This book provides no answers but holding a record of life lived is necessary nevertheless. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 25, 2025
Very surreal reading this knowing the full scale invasion is about to hit the 3.5 year mark. Felt weird to read about children acting out playing as a wounded soldier while remembering my years playing out defending my home against terrorist attacks. Important to remember that while the world began paying more attention in 2022, war between Ukraine and Russia existed since 2014. I would love for Belorusets to give an update, although what more can she say? War is war. The world isn't doing enough. People are dying. Russia isn't stopping.
June 16, 2023
Ich kann einfach nicht weniger als fünf Sterne vergeben. Dieses Buch hat mich tiefberührt und wieder sehr schmerzhaft vor Augen geführt, wie sinnlos (dieser) Krieg ist und dass er - obwohl „direkt vor der Haustür“ - immer noch so weit weg von meinem Leben ist. Es wird mich sicher noch eine Weile beschäftigen…
June 27, 2023
Is this book an important artifact of the war? Yes, undoubtedly. Maybe it’s a cultural difference or the fact that it’s a “public diary”, but I found the writing very impersonal. I really didn’t get a sense of Belorusets’ feelings and I didn’t learn anything new about Belorusets from the beginning to end.
March 13, 2024
I wish everyone in the USA could read this book.
As congress sits on the aid packet and Trump praises Putin, I (an American) sit here in Europe and wonder why people back home cannot see the danger.
As congress sits on the aid packet and Trump praises Putin, I (an American) sit here in Europe and wonder why people back home cannot see the danger.
April 21, 2024
There’s perhaps no better way to understand the impact of war than in the daily observations of individuals. This is a moving and gripping personal testimony of the horror of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the author writes with sensitivity and courage.
Read
August 22, 2023Photography.
Ukraine—Russia.
Translated from the German.
Powerful.
An act of documentation.
Ukraine—Russia.
Translated from the German.
Powerful.
An act of documentation.
October 9, 2023
This was a terrific account by photographer and writer Yevgenia Belorusets, in the form of a diary, covering the early days of the Russo-Ukrainian war. A war that is, sadly, still ongoing.
October 17, 2023
The writing is just a bit dry… could’ve been much more better
Read
January 1, 2024Notables 2023 #128
March 22, 2024
"What does this distance mean?
It is in no way an emotional distance, but a detachment that gives strength and the feeling that you can control how close the war comes to you."
It is in no way an emotional distance, but a detachment that gives strength and the feeling that you can control how close the war comes to you."
August 2, 2024
Felt bored reading it. Overall ok.
November 3, 2024
A must read. Truly moving piece on how it feels and where one’s thoughts drift while living through war
December 10, 2024
Rounded up from 4.5 stars
March 24, 2025
Very impactful writing incombination with the photographs for each day's entry. It feels incomplete, but then so is the war of Russian agression against Ukraine.
May 8, 2025
Super powerful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews