(Book review)

“Human is an obligement, not a title”
(Vasyl’ STUS)

It is hard to believe that almost 40 years ago the great Ukrainian poet couldn’t write and publish his works uncensored. However, it was really so during the Brezhnev stagnation. Vasyl’ Stus, the great Ukrainian author, was held in a labor camp for years. You won’t find a word about human suffering in archival documents. Ukrainian historian Vakhtang Kipiani dared to collect all the data in one book.

‘The Case of Vasyl Stus’ book collates all the documents from a six-volume KGB archive criminal case, witness statements, memories of close people, Kipiani’s articles and the last work by Stus ‘From the camp notebook‘ («З таборового зошита»). The reader can see how the great brutal Soviet hand destroyed the life of this talented patriot. Between numbers of protocols, recordings of interrogations, accusations, I had an impression that I saw the suffering and bleeding face of Stus in front of me in my room. He looked like alive person, not a paragraph from a school textbook.

After reading, I have a lot of questions to think about. However, something was absolutely clear to me. We must protect our country, our land and this book, showing the glory of one of the most notable Ukrainian poets of the twentieth century.

My rating is 10/10.