(Nonfiction Book Review)

“Strange, but a fact. The population of the region, which suffered a terrible decline, instead of seeking punishment for the real culprits of the closure and looting of enterprises, suddenly directed their anger at completely different people, who were not guilty of anything…The real architects of the protracted depression, due to whose fault miners burned themselves alive and entire cities turned into ruins, were considered “patriots of Donbas” and honorable citizens of mining towns…”
©How Ukraine Lost Donbas

I have been forming the ‘Shelf of Hope’ for several years. And this book got there first. I received it as a charitable donation, although now I am ready to give much more to it than I have.

‘How Ukraine lost Donbas’ is a reportage book about two regions of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk. The authors are Denys Kazanskyi, an investigative journalist, video blogger, who lived and worked in Donetsk until 2014, and Maryna Vorotyntseva , a journalist, consultant in PR, communications and marketing, who headed the communication units of state structures and private companies, working with politicians.

I was impressed by the methodological approach and scrupulousness with which the events were recounted, from Ukraine’s gaining independence to the beginning of the occupation and sluggish efforts to resolve something. For easier reading, the book is divided into 6 chapters, each of which has up to 15 parts. Nothing was left out, everything was mentioned: the Donetsk clans, the competition between Yushchenko and Yanukovych, paid rallies, and collaborators who just yesterday swore loyalty to Ukraine. Greed for Russian money dragged the region into a long bloody war.

The book became a discovery for me, “the cold shower post factum,” because some events took place even before I was born. We have so many problems left from the older generations, but we have to solve them ourselves.

In addition to my sincere admiration, I have a few comments. I think the book lacks sources. It would be great to place notes or QR codes for additional materials on empty spaces so that you don’t have to Google this or to seek that article on Wikipedia every 5 minutes. I also think that the wrong name was chosen to attract attention. After all, Ukraine did not lose the region; it was occupied, “stolen” from us.

The book was published in 2020 by the publishing organization Chorna Hora. I recommend this book to anyone who, like me, previously did not understand why it is so important for Ukraine to win, why you should not be mad at internally displaced persons.

My rating is 9/10.