Mikhail Shishkin (2013 Harriman Writer in Residence), an outspoken critic of the Putin regime long before 2014, has published an essay on the silence in Russia about the war in Ukraine and the future of Russian culture (Radio Liberty, 30 September 2023; in Russian). Shishkin’s most recent book is My Russia: War or Peace?, published earlier this year.
“All my life I have stood on firm ground–and that was Russian culture. Now there’s nothing for me to stand on.”
“[In 2014], all of the questions and conversations at my appearances in Europe were about the war. At the book fair in Russia they talked about everything except the war. Everyone was terribly interested in a new guide to Ancient Rome. I think I was the only one who spoke on stage about the coming catastrophe.”
Read the Essay
