Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov: Russians after me

2 years ago 32
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Renowned Ukrainian writer Andrey Kurkov has changed his location twice since Russia invaded Ukraine, after receiving information he is on a "wanted list" because of his outspoken criticism of President Vladimir Putin.

Kurkov told Stephen Sackur, on the BBC's Hardtalk programme, he had been "advised to move" from his home in Kyiv and then again from his countryside home because "I had information that I cannot prove, that I am on a wanted list, or I am just somebody who irritates very much some people in Russia".

"I assume there is some kind of danger but I don't concentrate on this," said Kurkov, whose work has been banned from Russia since 2014.

Russia and Ukraine are currently at war, after President Putin's decision to invade his neighbour, but the relationship between the two countries and its citizens is multi-layered and embodied by Kurkov, who was born in Russia, writes in Russian but is a Ukrainian citizen.

Find out more about the war in Ukraine.

Watch the full interview on Tuesday, 1 March, on BBC World News or watch again, on BBC iPlayer (UK only).

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