"This is the city of my childhood, love, and happiness. I saw it differently but never thought I would see it dead."
It seemed impossible. However, for months, the whole world watched live as the russian army destroyed Mariupol. Cold, hunger, fear, destroyed houses, and the proximity of death became the reality of the city's inhabitants after the beginning of the blockade. The author of this book, Nadiia Sukhorukova, was among those who had to experience this horror.
Nadiia managed not to fall into despair only thanks to her own diary. Day after day, she recorded the city's events, which were slowly reduced to ashes and ruins. Frankly and painfully emotional, she shows Mariupol through the eyes of its inhabitants. But above all, it demonstrates the power of hope, which cannot be destroyed even by the most powerful bombs.
Another resident of Mariupol, the graphic artist Daniil Nemyrovskyi created the illustrations in the book. This is his own visual reflection of what he experienced in Mariupol.
What is good about this book:
Excerpts from the author's diary have already been heard worldwide. Still, this book reproduces the whole story of what the residents of Mariupol experienced after the invasion of the city by the russian army.
Another resident of Mariupol, the graphic artist Daniil Nemyrovskyi created a visual reflection of the events. In his illustrations, he very accurately managed to convey the atmosphere of a war city and the feeling of people before whose eyes their home is being destroyed.
About the author:
Nadiia Sukhorukova is a journalist from Mariupol. During the blockade of Mariupol, she kept a diary on social networks. Excerpts from it were heard during a speech in the European Parliament by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgar Rinkevich, and at a charity evening in support of Ukraine in Britain performed by British actress Greta Bellamasina. Lithuanian director Andryus Saulius (Vilnius Drama Theater) staged a play based on the diary. Excerpts were published on the platform "Open Democracy" (Great Britain), in the publications "Voice of America" (USA), "New York Times" (USA), "Ukrainian Pravda" (Ukraine), "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (Germany), " Bild-Zeitung" (Germany), "Freefils" (Scotland), etc. In addition, based on Nadiya's diary, the Association of Ukrainian Producers (UUP) made a documentary film "Mariupol. An unlost hope." The film is evidence of the russian-Ukrainian war through the eyes of ordinary people who lived in Mariupol during the first month of the invasion.
About the illustrator:
Daniil Nemyrovskyi is an artist, researcher, and teacher of the Mariupol branch of the National Academy of Arts and Architecture. Member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine. He was a resident artist in Barcelona, Klementowice, Frankfurt am Main, and Dnipro. Before the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, he lived and worked in Mariupol.
