About Lyudmila Ulitskaya's 'small war'

As I was preparing for various speeches at the Leipzig Book Fair, I began to put together various thoughts, including those 'peace prizes' that the Western world is so persistently trying to use to bring Russians and Ukrainians, and sometimes Belarusians, together on the same stage. Well, this is nothing new. But I focused a bit on a recent story – the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize, which was to be awarded simultaneously to Russian writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Ukrainian artist Serhiy Maidukov. This year's prize, according to the jury, was to be interpreted as a “sign of hope for reconciliation” (how could it not be?). Maidukov refused to attend the award ceremony, and he was right to do so.

And I just came across an interview with Ulitskaya, who, by the way, if you didn't know, moved from Russia to Berlin (her son forced her to 'evacuate' and she really didn't want to). I didn't know either, and I'm not interested in how Russians live today. But when I was preparing for my own speech, I decided to focus a little bit. And so I turned on the video – a public interview with Ulitskaya in Berlin – and almost immediately heard: “I was born during the war. I am almost 80 years old, and I lived a huge happy part of my life when there were no big wars. Small local ones were constantly going on somewhere on the outskirts of Russia. But there was still hope that there would be no more big wars. Now there is no certainty in this. I would like to see this threat pass us by,” says Ulitskaya now, during Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, sitting on stage against the backdrop of a Stand with Ukraine poster. “Well, it depends on how you understand the phrase 'great war'. In fact, there is already a great war going on,” the host says so carefully. “But I'd like to call it a small one for now,” Ulitskaya replies.

“All this is clear, and nothing new. But once again, preparing to answer possible questions about good Russians is frankly too much. However, it is probably necessary to talk about all this somehow, at least something. Or am I wrong?”

It's a small war, a local war. It's going on by itself, just like those other small wars on the outskirts of Russia. She would like to think so.

The nastiness.

All this is understandable, and nothing new. But once again, preparing to answer possible questions about good Russians is frankly too much. However, it is probably necessary to talk about all this somehow, at least something. Or am I wrong? It doesn't seem to be working, does it? Because these peace prizes are pouring in and out. Deaf old Europe doesn't hear, no.

Source

About the author. Iryna Tsilyk, Ukrainian film director, writer, author of poetry and prose, member of PEN Ukraine.

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