We now have an unofficial correspondent on the ground in Kyiv – Borys Sydiuk – who is currently residing in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his family. In a recent communication he writes:
“Air raid alerts are heard at least 10 times a day and we spend most time in our corridor on floor as it is the safest place.
Cheers to all your readers and thank you for your support, it is important. “
Boris asks that we bring three different projects to your attention:
An appeal from Russian authors that paints a Russian propaganda picture of the situation:
Stars over Donbas Declaration signed by the group:
OPEN APPEAL
OF PARTICIPANTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL “STARS OVER DONBASS”
Bandits, armed with Nazi ideology, have been killing our compatriots for eight years, killing women, elderly people and children in Donbass.
For three years in a row, we organize an international literary forum “Stars over Donbass” in front-line Donetsk. We witness with our own eyes what the 21st century Nazism is – broken houses, destroyed neighborhoods, graves of Donbass residents who died because of Ukrainian punishers. We wipe away tears, looking at the names of the children in the Avenue of Angels.
Forget? Never.
Forgive? Impossible.
In this difficult time of trial, when an aggressive information war began, we cannot stand aside. There are millions of our readers with us, including those who are now carrying out their military duty with arms in their hands.
We support our army, which acts as clearly, professionally and selflessly as possible. We support our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who launched a special operation to denazify and demilitarize the state of Ukraine.
Retribution will surely come to those who allowed the militarization of Ukraine. Without it, its return to a normal, creative life is impossible. And we have no doubt that it will be done.
(This gives readers some idea of how the Russian propaganda is attempting to confuse the situation)
My open letter to publishers and event organizers and government authorities
To authorities of all civilized countries and event organizers all over the World.
Recently a small group of Russian SF&F writers and fans signed a declaration where they supported Putin in his efforts to make “Final Solution to the Ukrainian Question”.
Here is the list of those who signed that misanthropic document:
Sergey Lukyanenko
Roman Zlotnikov
Oleg Divov
Vadim Panov
Andrey Lazarchuk
Evgeny Lukin
Evgeny Schepetnov
Maria Semyonova
Mikhail Atamanov
Alexey Abramov
Irina Andronati
Viktor Artamonov
Dmitry Baikalov
Victoria Balashova
Ksenia Bashtovaya
Andrey Belyanin
Dmitry Belov
Kirill Benediktov
Fedor Berezin
Svetlana Bondarenko
Yuri Burnosov
Vladimir Vasiliev
Sergey Volkov
Maria Volkova
Evgeny Garkushev
Tatiana Glushchenko
Alexey Gravitsky
Anna Derbeneva
Anna Dolgareva
Alexey Evtushenko
Ludmila Evtushenko
Andrey Ermolaev
Vitaly Zabirko
Andrey Zemskov
Elena Bazzaeva
Iar Elterrus (Yehuda Ben Yosef)
Pavel Ievlev
Dmitry Kazakov
Vyacheslav Kovalev
Alexander Kontorovich
Alexander Kofman
Petr Kulakov
Dmitry Lazarev
Darina Lysakova
Andrey Martyanov
Nadezhda Maslova
Anna Matveenko
Alexey Mashtakov
Denis Murashkevich
Ivan Naumov
Karina Pavlyuchkova
Olga Pasko
Anton Pervushin
Elena Pervushina
Vitaly Pishchenko
Katerina Polevodova
Anna Revyakina
Alexander Rudazov
Vladislav Rusanov
Mikhail Savelichev
Faina Savenkova
Georgy Savitsky
Anton Sviridenko
Taisiya Sevryukova
Svetlana Sevryukova
Andrey Sinitsyn
Sergei Slyusarenko
Tatiana Stolyarova
Kirill Sudakov
Zlata Tebieva
Mikhail Tyrin
Elena Khaetskaya
Sergey Chekmaev
Max Cherepanov
Sergey Shilov
Julia Andreeva
Alexander Peterson
Andrey Zemlyanoy
Yuri Mori
Mikhail Afonin
Ukrainian writers and fans appeal to you to ban these people who support the genocide of the Ukrainian people: please, don’t issue visas to them, don’t publish them, don’t invite them to cultural events. Keep your culture clear from this dirt.
When the war is over, they will have to face the new Nuremberg trials.
and
A letter from Ukrainian artists to world artists!
On Thursday, February 24th the Russian Federation declared war on Ukraine and attacked our country. As we write this letter, the army of the country-aggressor kills our children, bombs cities and civilians, and already turned more than 835,000 Ukrainians into refugees. In an attempt to further occupy our lands, Russia at the same time uses aggressive propaganda to justify its war crimes. Russian citizens are consistently being lied to about what is really happening in Ukraine.
We believe that not all Russian citizens are fans of Putin’s regime and not all of them justify this war. We know that plenty of Russians feel scared to use their voices and speak up against Putin’s regime. Many believe it is none of their business. Yet, there are also many who believe in the righteousness of Putin and his propaganda.
So, we plead with you — writers and visual content creators that have big audiences of readers and followers in Russia. To them, your opinion and your words matter. Your stand on the war in Ukraine matters. Please, stand by us as we fight for our values, our democracy, and our freedom. For the right to be Ukrainians and live in Ukraine. Your powerful voices can influence these Russian readers and followers. To encourage them to be brave, connect with their values, and take a stand on ending this ruthless war.
Please, take to your platforms and address your Russian and Ukrainian audiences. The first ones need your encouragement to believe in the power of their voices against Putin’s regime. The second ones are in desperate need of support and kindness.
We encourage the international community of fans of science fiction & fantasy, writers, artists, editors to boycott the Russian book market until the war in Ukraine ends and the country is free from Russian occupation. Until Putin’s regime is condemned as criminal and Putin and his closest allies are punished. As Ukrainians, we are working on this to happen day and night but there are bureaucratic procedures that make the process so much slower in critical times where every second counts and can save Ukrainian lives.
Here are ways in which you can help our country:
1. Please, reroute the funds received from Russia to either of the Ukrainian charity foundations that take care of refugees and restore what was ruined by Russia:
The National Bank of Ukraine has opened an account for humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression. The account will be used to credit charitable assistance from Ukraine and abroad. The Ministry of Social Policy will use the funds raised to provide support to the citizens of Ukraine who suffer the most from the war.
See below.
2. If possible, terminate contracts and collaborations with Russian publishers. Do not let them use the money they earn on publishing your work to fund the war in Ukraine.
3. Publicly denounce any further collaboration with Russia until it stops its aggression.
The following writers have already supported us by announcing a complete refusal to cooperate with the Russian Federation: Stephen King, Neil Geiman, Joe Abercrombie, Rebecca Kuang, Michał Cetnarowski, John Crowley, Jakub Ćwiek, Piotr Gociek, Piotr Górski, Jarosław Grzędowicz, Marcin A. Guzek, Anna Kańtoch, Marta Kładź-Kocot, Tomasz Kołodziejczak, Jacek Komuda, Rafał Kosik, Maja Lidia Kossakowska, Marta Barbara Krajewska, Paweł Majka,Tomasz Niziński, Łukasz Orbitowski, Michał Protasiuk, Adam Przechrzta, Marcin Podlewski, Radek Rak, Magdalena Salik, Arkady Saulski, Wit Szostak, Robert M. Wegner, Cezary Zbierzchowski, Wojciech Zembaty.
It is of paramount importance for these actions to be made public. This will allow your readers to learn about your stand on the war in Ukraine and help those content creators who are still hesitant about condemning Russia’s aggression to take a stand, too.
It goes without saying that either of these actions is an act coming out of free will. We are grateful for any support. We are sure that the war that currently unfolds in the middle of Europe is not only Ukraine’s war. This is the war aimed at undermining and destroying the values of free civilizations. In times of peace, we guard these values via our novels, art, songs. Alas, this is not enough in times of war.
If you are not sure you have enough information to make an informed decision on taking a stand on what is currently happening in Ukraine, please see these resources.
If you have any questions, we are willing to provide you with answers. There can be delays in answering as many of us are often hiding in shelters from active bombing. Others rely on very unstable internet and phone connections while keeping in touch in these days of the war. There can be delays in responses, we apologize in advance.
Also, it is important to note that neither of us, the authors of this letter need any urgent help. It is our country that is in a state of a humanitarian crisis, desperately seeking support and allies.
When taking to your platforms and speaking about Ukraine and war in our country, please use these tags.
#SFaccessdenied
#StopBusinessInrussia
#StopFundTheWar
#StandWithUkraine
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Thank you for your support.
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