Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov is 1 of Ukraine’s most celebrated contemporary authors. Originally born in the russian city of Leningrad, he and his household relocated to Kyiv erstwhile he was only 2 years old. Since then, Kurkov has lived in Ukraine. Over the years, he trained as a translator, worked for the russian police, and served as a prison defender in Odesa. Today, he is best known for his surrealist novels, which delve into the complexities of russian and post-Soviet Ukraine, blending dark humour with insightful commentary.
At a café not far from Kyiv’s celebrated Golden Gate, Andrey Kurkov met with me for a coffee to discuss his work, Russia’s war against Ukraine, the struggles facing art and literature at specified a time, and the many changes that have taken place in Ukraine since February 2022. The following are excerpts from that conversation:
Kurkov is best known for his novels, specified as Death and the Penguin and Grey Bees. Though he is an ardent author of commentary and non-fiction, his works of fiction have captured the attention and imagination of many worldwide. Yet for him, Russia’s full-scale invasion has prevented him from continuing that work. Kurkov explained that he “had been writing the 3rd fresh about 1919 erstwhile the full-scale invasion began. And actually, on the first day, I realized I cannot compose fiction anymore. due to the fact that there was a very deep feeling that it’s a guilty pleasance to compose fiction at a time of bombing and of war”.
Kurkov immediately began writing commentaries on the war and giving interviews abroad. His function as a public intellectual has made him a regular voice in abroad media. “I was immediately asked to give commentaries about what is happening in Ukraine and I switched to writing non-fiction. I have always been writing diaries but then I started writing texts which are like a fusion between diaries and essays, about kind of individual issues. For a year and a half, I have been writing all day only this kind of text […] it was a very unusual feeling that you just forget about everything. You concentrate on the war and the text,” he explained.
Despite this shift, Kurkov’s passion remains with fiction, a form of solace during dark times. “When I compose fiction, I feel much happier due to the fact that fiction [is a] complete detachment from reality. I mean it’s just like erstwhile I managed to get into a novel, so it’s like a tiny vacation from the war. It’s a vacation. So, while you are writing, you are in 1919, besides in a very terrible situation, but it’s fiction. So it’s not something you are physically active in,” Kurkov said, referring to the fresh he was writing erstwhile Russia launched its run of demolition on February 24th 2022.
Unique for an author of his stature, Andrey Kurkov writes his books in the Russian language. This has meant that over the years, despite much of his work being translated and sold in the Ukrainian language, his Ukrainian audience has its limits. Kurkov explained that “In general, I accept it. I mean, I regularly had problems due to the fact that I compose in Russian. But they were never serious problems. And actually, after 2012, my books were coming out at the same time in Russian and Ukrainian. And any books would sale better in Ukrainian translation than in Russian. With the war, it became much more difficult, of course.”
Kurkov’s prominence as a public intellectual has not waned. He frequently travels to the EU, US and Canada to support Ukraine. He is unperturbed by being blacklisted in Russia after his 2013 fresh The President’s Last Love featured a character akin to Vladimir Putin annexing Crimea. erstwhile asked if he had the option of selling his books in Russia to show the Russian people the realities of what is happening now in Ukraine, or if Ukrainians should be pushing for Russians to change, Kurkov responded frankly that “the country is mainly supporting Putin so I don’t want to consider them my possible readers […] Russians should work with Russians to change them. Those Russians who are now calling themselves the opposition and based in the West – they should go back and change them. due to the fact that they will not change them from Berlin or from fresh York.”
When discussing the changes in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kurkov highlighted that on the 1 hand, “the shaping of the political nation and this kind of feeling of brotherhood from the beginning of the full-scale invasion in the first 8 to 10 months” was a fresh phase for Ukrainian culture and its identity. On the another hand, however, the “negative is the radicalization of the intellectual society of Ukraine and dividing into groups, hating each other, provoking scandals. I mean the full habit of provoking scandals, especially provoking linguistic scandals, it became institutionalized, so people think erstwhile they provoke it that they are working for the future of Ukraine. […] they don’t want to realize that actually change does not come so quickly.”
Regarding the question of Ukraine’s linguistic improvement over the past fewer years, Kurkov clarified that “Yes, until 1934, Kharkiv was Ukrainian-speaking and Lviv was Polish-speaking. And today, actually before the full-scale invasion, Lviv was mostly Ukrainian-speaking and Kharkiv was Russian-speaking. Now due to the influx of refugees from the east into western Ukraine, there is more Russian language in Galicia, in west Ukraine, in Lviv. And physically little Russian speakers in the east due to the fact that many of them have been killed and those who survived have found refuge in Europe. So, to imagine that you can make Ukraine totally Ukrainian-speaking overnight is simply a crazy idea.”
Andrey Kurkov’s experience mirrors that of many Ukrainians, navigating life and work amid the constant threat of war and bombings while supporting the country’s defence efforts where possible. Like others, he faces the complexities of linguistic adaptation and the fast evolution of Ukrainian society. As with his writing, the war is reshaping how people live and cope with this fresh reality. While much has been lost, fresh opportunities besides emerge. Yet, society remains in a state of flux – changing for better or worse as the conflict continues.
For the time being, Kurkov’s wonderful usage of surrealism within the Ukrainian subject remains a casualty of Russia’s war. As he explained, his ability to compose fiction has been limited by the attacks, the bombings and the sirens. erstwhile asked if he intends to compose a fresh based on what is and has been happening to Ukraine in the last 2 and a half years, he lamented that “maybe 1 day the thought will come but now I don’t feel like writing about the contemporary situation in fiction. someway there is simply a block in front of me in trying to make fiction based on this reality.”
As Ukraine continues to grapple with war, Andrey Kurkov’s journey reflects the broader challenges facing the nation’s artists and intellectuals. His conflict to balance the demands of reality with the desire for creative expression underscores the profound impact of the conflict at both individual and cultural levels.
Joshua R. Kroeker is an independent researcher, founder of the boutique analytic firm Reaktion Group, an analyst at the political analysis task R.Politik, and an editor at RANE. He holds degrees from the University of British Columbia in Canada, Heidelberg University in Germany and St Petersburg State University, Russia. @jrkroeker on Twitter.
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