The Torture Camp on Paradise Street

"This book is a difficult read but an important one. Aseyev is a journalist from Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine occupied by Russians in 2014. He stayed in Donetsk after the occupation and reported on what was happening. Then he was captured and brought to a concentration camp , where he was imprisoned for two years, from 2017 to 2019. In the book, he describes all the forms of psychological and physical torture that he and the other prisoners of this concentration camp endured. This book allows us to understand the Russian occupation and everything that has been going on since Russia forcibly invaded Ukraine in 2014. When we hear various calls to appeasement, to peace talks with Russia, this is what we need to keep in mind. This is what Russia does on occupied territories. This is what Russia does to Ukrainian citizens. Aseyev’s witness reminds us that we need to keep focusing attention on the lives of those in occupied territories, on the Russian trademark concentration camps. We know that other similar detention centers are mushrooming wherever Russia has been able to establish its occupation authorities. Yes. He was brought back from prison in a political exchange, and he became an advocate for political prisoners illegally held in Russia and occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea. It is well known that Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, are treated by Russian occupying forces as traitors. They were the regime’s first target, and they’ve been imprisoned in their hundreds. Those Crimean Tatars who are not imprisoned are often forced to take up arms and to fight against their compatriots, against Ukrainians. It’s a very difficult situation that’s been going on for too long a time. Yes, it’s out in the open. Perhaps it’s just that we all live in our bubbles. I imagine that for many people who are not familiar with what has been going on in Ukraine since 2014, this would be shocking news, and they just can’t imagine the level of brutality to which people in the occupied territories are being subjected. Aseyev writes with beautiful clarity and philosophical richness. His book is a testament to the dignity and the strength of the human spirit. It’s been a very weird ten years, which started with the Maidan Revolution in 2014. For my generation, it was a turning point when we realized that we will not live under an authoritarian regime and we were willing to risk our lives and overthrow the pro-Russian authoritarian president in Ukraine. It was a life-changing experience. The power of the people was there, united. After that, there could have been a moment for Ukraine to rise and thrive, but Russia invaded straight away. From the revolution, we jumped straight into the war. Since then, the war has been hanging over everything that my generation has tried to do with our lives. It was always there, determining all our actions. The full-scale invasion marked another turning point. Despite all the tragedy and grief and destruction and pain we are enduring, we are fated to have a future because of our memory and because of our responsibility for everything that has already happened. So much sacrifice and so much human suffering cannot be in vain. It means that we have to win this war. It means that we have to bring justice to the survivors and make sure that Russians are held accountable for what they did. It means that we have to rebuild our country. People like me, with one foot in Ukraine and the other one in London, are bridging these communication gaps and trying to explain to the outside world what Ukraine is going through. It’s occasionally a schizophrenic experience. I really want people to discover Ukrainian literature. As I was trying to think of books I could recommend, I realized how much of this literature has not been translated. You would think that after the full-scale invasion, publishers would be knocking on our doors and begging us to give them more, and that everyone would want to publish, translate, and read Ukrainian literature. This hasn’t happened at all. Any opportunity we have to throw some light on this writing is much appreciated."