Written in diary form, Olena Stiazhkina’s book tells the story of events in and around Donetsk during the Russian invasion and occupation of 2014. In this personal account, she documents the first bloody chapter of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
This diary records events from March 2, 2014, when the first wave of pro-Russian protests swept across eastern Ukraine after Euromaidan, the Revolution of Dignity, to August 18, 2014, the day a convoy of civilian Ukrainian refugees was deliberately destroyed by Russian troops.
Along with her story, Stiazhkina also shares her observations of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, doing so with wry humor, dry wit, and sarcasm.
“My name is Olena Stiazhkina. I was born and raised in Donetsk…
In March 2014, Russians came into Donetsk and Luhansk—or rather, they drove in from Russian oblasts just across the border—dressed up as “protesters.” In April, the Russians were no longer cautious or circumspect; they came in as armed special forces. In August, before the battle of Ilovaisk, Russians came in openly, as regular soldiers.
The catastrophe of occupation unfolded gradually, hour by hour, day by day. That’s probably why, at first, we couldn’t believe it; then we couldn’t stop it. For the entire world, this part of the Russians’ war against Ukraine was invisible, hidden behind the smoke screen of a crudely cobbled-together “suffering people of Donbas.”
We too were invisible: all of us who woke up one fine morning as Ukrainians.”
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