Op-Ed: “Don’t read books written by a killer”

Journalist Alan Tskhurbaev has published a short piece about well-known Russian author Zakhar Prilepin, who boasts about killing many Ukrainians in the Donbass

∗ Published on the online portal Caucasian Knot

Author and artistic director of the Moscow Theatre Zakhar Prilepin gave an interview in which he proudly stated that the battalion he served with in Donbass killed the most Ukrainians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75m64O9F0a0

Who is reading Zakhar Prilepin’s books? Everything that he says in the interview disgusts me. I guess it’s clear that his stuff just doesn’t work for me. But those of you who do read him, why do you like his work?

Whether he was lying or telling the truth in this interview isn’t important. A person who boasts about how many people he’s killed and says that he’ll never face any consequences can not be seen as a moral authority in any sane society.

In a normal society, such a man would be condemned and exiled.

In Hollywood, your career can come to an end by harassing a star. But here, a murderer is treated like a star. If you support him and buy his books, you are supporting his murders as well.