275. Kateryna Babkina - Optimism is not Enough to Defeat Russia and Remain a Vibrant, Independent Country

100 years ago, few in Western Europe cared about Ukraine – or its disappearance as an independent state – swallowed up as the newly born tyranny of the USSR flexed its imperial muscles; but that has now changed. Putin’s Russian World revanchism and violence have accelerated the evolution of Ukrainian identity and increased the pressure for social, political, and economic change. Perhaps the most perverse Russian invasion narrative, is that Ukraine is not old, and is not distinct from Russia in any case. But Ukraine is not just a footnote to Russian imperial history. And at the end of this war, Ukraine could prove to be the rock upon which the decrepit, brittle hull of the Russian imperial ship tears itself apart and sinks from history. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Kateryna Babkina is a Ukrainian poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. She is the winner of Angelus Central European Literature Award (2021) for her book ‘My Grandfather Danced’. Kateryna was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine and attended Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv to study journalism, graduating in 2007, after which she worked as a freelance journalist. Babkina's novella for children "Cappy and the Whale" was published in translation by Penguin Random House, UK. In April 2023. Kateryna was the first Ukrainian author to have her readings at the Library of Congress, US. ---------- LINKS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kateryna_Babkina https://twitter.com/babkina https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/295414/kateryna-babkina https://pen.org.ua/en/members/babkina-kateryna https://www.instagram.com/babkina ---------- POETRY St Elmo's Fire (2002) The Mustard (2011) Painkillers and Sleeping Pills (2014) Charmed for Love (2017) Does not hurt (2021) SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS Lilu After You (2008) Schaslyvi holi lyudy (Happy Naked People) (2016) ---------- NOVELS Sonia (2013) My Grandfather Danced the Best (2019) ---------- SCREENPLAYS Evil, as part of the 2013 Kinofest NYC festival ---------- PLAYS Hamlet.Babylon (2016), an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ---------- CHILDREN'S STORIES Harbuzovyi rik (The Pumpkin Year) (2014) Шапочка і кит (The Hat and the Whale) (2015) Girls's power (2018, co-authored with Mark Livin) Snow heaty (2022) ----------