Un romanzo russo, scritto da una scrittrice russa, che non può essere pubblicatoa in patria.
Il motivo: nel raccontare vicende della Mosca di oggi, e altre della Russia che fra l’88 e il ’91 visse la sua breve stagione di rivolta liberale e democratica, Elena Tregubova ha insospettito i censori del regime putiniano. E così, per vedere stampate le bozze del suo libro (nell’originale russo dal titolo “Intime conversazioni da origliare”), Elena ha dovuto andare in Ucraina, un Paese in guerra. Questa storia – al riassunto in inglese segue in russo l’unica recensione filtrata tra le maglie della censura di Mosca in un sito online – istruisce noi tutti sulla realtà della dittatura putiniana, e sull’importanza di una resistenza dei popoli liberi, a partire da quello ucraino, alla violenza e alla sopraffazione.
The book just now has been published – but of course not in Russia! Because of the censorship. The book has been published in Ukraine – in their leading publishing house “Folio” – in russian language. This is unprecedented since the fall of the Soviet Union. The novel written in russian language is first published not in Russia but abroad – because of the censorship in Russia. All Russian publishers refused. One of them said clearly: “Since the author left Russia, the mood in the country has changed dramatically – and this book doesn’t suit this new mood!” And another publisher was about to sign the agreement – but then the book-distributors told him that no way will take the book for distributing!!!
It is a big serious Russian novel – with all the story of the Russian anti-communist “velvet revolution” of 1988-1991 in the background (but written in the way as you would be reading about today’s fight of the Russian dissidents against Putin). And in the “framing”, “outer” novel (which happens today, in now-time) – there is Maidan theme as well.
Boris Nemtsov tried to help the author to find a publisher – in the last months before his murder. But there was the same story – everyone said at first “Yes! Yes! We want her book!” But in a week time explained: “I’m sorry, but our bosses are against – you understand…” And someone said as well that the distributors declared in advance that they won’t deal with the book (even though the book has a literature pseudonym Lena Swann).
And the fact that this “forbidden in Russia” book was published in Ukraine in russian language is a wonderful slap in the face to all Putin’s propaganda lies about “the Russian world” and about the “violation of the rights of Russian-speaking” in Ukraine.
Just now, last week, the book appeared in the bookstores of Kiev.
Gaston Beuk
