Victoria Amelina explored a land of atrocities and secrets
The Ukrainian writer and civil-rights campaigner died on July 1st, from injuries sustained in a Russian missile attack
The summer grass was long under the cherry tree, and they did not know where to dig at first. Victoria Amelina was standing in a garden in the village of Kapytolivka, near Izyum in eastern Ukraine, with the aged father of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a poet. The poet had been shot by the Russians, his body hastily buried in one of 400 graves. His father, desperate with grief, could cling only to one thing: that Volodymyr had told him he had buried his diary of the Russian occupation under the cherry tree.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Truth, and how to find it”
From the July 15th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Obituary
Peter Fenwick became the world expert on near-death experiences
The neuropsychiatrist and promoter of “the art of dying” died on November 22nd, aged 89
Chiung Yao taught the Chinese all about romantic love
The bestselling novelist and screenwriter died on December 4th, aged 86
Jimmy Carter was perhaps the most virtuous of all America’s presidents
The humble peanut farmer who went to the White House died on December 29th, aged 100
Brother Harold Palmer lived alone in the wilds by choice
The Northumbrian hermit died on October 4th, aged 93
Shalom Nagar was picked by lottery to kill Adolf Eichmann
The Israeli prison officer turned ritual slaughterer died on November 26th, aged 88
John Kinsel used his own language to fool the Japanese
One of the last Navajo code-talkers died on October 19th, aged 107