Gordeeva, Russian journalist in exile wins Geschwister Scholl literary prize

Admin I Wednesday, October 02, 2024

 

BAVARIA – This year’s Geschwister Scholl literary prize has been awarded to the exiled Russian journalist Katerina Gordeeva for her book about people affected by the all-out Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the book, “Take my pain. Stories from the War,” Gordeeva portrays 24 women and men, mainly from Ukraine, but also from Russia.

The prize, which is awarded by the Bavarian chapter of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association as well as the city of Munich, is endowed with €10,000 ($11,000).

The prize is named after Hans and Sophie Scholl, two siblings who helped organize the non-violent White Rose anti-Nazi resistance group in Munich and who were both executed by the Nazi regime in 1943.

In Russia, Gordeeva is best known for her documentary films and television programmes. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, she left Russia and now lives with her family in Latvia.

She is listed as a “foreign agent” by the Russian government.

One of her documentary films about people who fled Ukraine in the first year of the full-scale invasion in 2022 became the basis for her book.

Mothers of Russian soldiers are also featured in the book. With long passages of direct speech, Gordeeva gives the survivors a voice to talk about what the war means to them as individuals.

In doing so, she also reveals her own difficult role as a reporter from the country that caused the suffering of her interviewees, according to the prize jury. This year’s award ceremony will take place on November 26, according to the organizers.