'Yes, we live in a completely crazy world': Ludmila Ulitskaya, 'enemy of the people' writer who fled Russia

Published on June 7, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

Ludmila Ulitskaya in Paris, April 2022. MANUEL BRAUN/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES

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Portrait Exiled in Berlin, the magnificent 82-year-old author of "Sonietchka" has published a book of short stories about the angels who watch over us, and about the end of the world that she feels is coming.

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It's been three years since she left Russia in a hurry. The invasion of Ukraine had just begun. And she, a Muscovite at heart, didn't know which way to go. Stay? Leave? " My husband and I probably would have hesitated for a long time before leaving the country. But my son arrived from London with plane tickets and told us we had half an hour to pack. 17.5 kilos for me and 17.5 kilos for my husband. Half were books. The rest were our everyday belongings. When I left our apartment, I knew it was for the long haul." So, off to Berlin, where she found more than a temporary residence—a new home.

The fact is, she quickly adjusted to her new life. “In Berlin, I have friends, I lead a normal life. I don’t feel nostalgic. People who left Russia a hundred years ago all dreamed of returning to their country. While today’s exiles want to settle in Europe, they don’t want to go back. As for me, I wouldn’t have much to do in Russia anymore. My friends are gone. Even my grandchildren…

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