Prominent Russian writer Lyudmila Ulytska, a critical voice of the war in Ukraine who lives in exile in Germany, was classified by Russian authorities as a “foreign agent” on Friday, a symbol of a crackdown that also affects artists, according to reports. AFP.

Hundreds of people — human rights activists, dissidents and independent journalists — have been classified as “foreign agents” in Russia in recent years, a status that comes with strict administrative restrictions and an obligation to identify themselves as such in all public communications.

81-year-old Lyudmila Ulytska is known in Russia and throughout the world for her prose, and was repeatedly included in the list of nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Her best-known novel, Daniel Stein, Interpreter, based on the true story of a Jew who became a Catholic priest, won the Big Book Award in 2007.

This writer, whose works have been translated into many languages, likes to oppose the Kremlin, a rare choice in Russian literary circles.

Ulytska repeatedly condemned the “senseless” attack by Russian troops on Ukraine, saying in 2023 that it would have “catastrophic consequences for Russia itself.”

According to the Ministry of Justice of Russia on Friday, the author “opposed” the conflict in Ukraine and, in particular, “led propaganda in favor of LGBT relations.”

She has been living in Germany since 2022, having left Russia after the start of the offensive against Ukraine, like many of Vladimir Putin’s detractors.

In 2019, the University of Bucharest awarded him the honor of Doctor Honoris Causa for all his literary activities and for his contribution to modern universal literature, as well as for the firmness with which he advocates for the observance of human rights, according to a press release. from the institution.

Lyudmyla Ulytskaya, one of the most important and recognized voices of modern literature, was born in a village in the Urals in 1943. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology from Moscow University, she works at the Institute of Genetics. In the late 1970s, he worked as an adviser at the Jewish Theater in Moscow and wrote scripts.

His first novel, Soniecika (1995; Humanitas, 2004), brought him instant fame, being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Russian Literature and awarded the Médicis étranger and Giuseppe Acerbi prizes.

His next novel, Medea and Her Children (1996), boosted his reputation with a new Booker Prize nomination, which he received in 2001 for The Case of the Cuckoo, which also won the Penne Prize (2006). Joyful Funeral (1997; Humanitas, 2005), one of the author’s best-known novels, has been translated into more than twenty languages.

The collection of short stories “Girls” (2002; Humanitas Fiction, 2013) had the same success, as well as the novels “Women’s Lies” (2003; Humanitas, 2005) and “Sincerely Yours, Zurik” (2003; Humanitas Fiction, 2008), winner of several premium : Novel of the Year 2004 in Russia, National Literary Award of China (2005) and Grinzane Cavour in Italy (2008). Daniel Stein, translator (2006; Humanitas Fiction, 2011) was awarded the Bolshaya Kniga (Big Book), Father Alexandru (Germany-Russia, 2008) and Simone de Beauvoir for Women’s Freedom Awards (France, 2011).

In 2010, Ulițkaia published the novel Cortul verde, translated into Romanian under the title Imago (Humanitas Fiction, 2016), which received praise from the international press, and in 2015, Jacob’s Ladder (Humanitas Fiction, 2018), which won the Bolshaia Awards . Book, 3rd place and Readers’ Prize.

Link:

• VIDEO Interview of Lyudmila Ulytska about populism, Russia and Boris Akunin