After Russian forces took control of his village in 2022, Volodymyr Vakulenko, a well-known Ukrainian author, sensed he might soon be arrested.
So he buried his new handwritten manuscript in his backyard, under a cherry tree.
Best known in Ukraine for his cheerful and lyrical children’s books, Mr. Vakulenko was seething with anger at Moscow’s occupying forces.
Soon enough, Russian soldiers indeed arrested Mr. Vakulenko, and his body later turned up in a mass grave.
Six months later, a fellow Ukrainian author, Viktoria Amelina, learned of the buried book, dug it up, wrote a foreword and sent it to a publisher.
Persons:
Volodymyr Vakulenko, Vakulenko, Viktoria Amelina
Organizations:
Russian
Locations:
Ukraine, Ukrainian