British-French writer Philippe Sands has mentioned he was informed it’s “unacceptable” to learn the work of Russian author Leo Tolstoy amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sands is a lawyer and the writer of bestselling books together with The Ratline and The Final Colony. In 2016, his memoir East West Road: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Towards Humanity received the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction.
The 64-year-old appeared on a panel on the 2025 Hay Competition, which has partnered with The Impartial for a second 12 months. He was joined by Swedish philanthropist Sigrid Rausing, educational Adam Rutherford, and The Impartial’s chief worldwide correspondent Bel Trew.
Responding to Rausing’s considerations over “how far Ukraine goes to go” in retaliating in opposition to the Russian invasion, Sands mentioned: “I’ve bought no objection to that. I’ve bought no objection to them focusing on Russian bridges.”
He continued: “The problem I’ve present in Kyiv, and in different places in Ukraine, is I wish to learn a brief story by Tolstoy and I’m informed I can’t do this as a result of it’s unacceptable.”
Russian novelist Tolstoy, who died in 1910, was the writer of seminal books together with Battle and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878). The latter has been the topic of quite a few movie diversifications, together with a critically acclaimed model starring Greta Garbo in 1935, and Joe Wright’s 2012 adaptation starring Keira Knightley.
“It’s a difficulty proper now as a result of [Ukrainians] are feeling very beleaguered,” mentioned Sands. “Then again, there are individuals who say, ‘No, completely there are lots of good Russian writers, and plenty of good Russian folks…’ so that’s complicated.”
He added: “However by way of going into the Russian facet, completely. [Ukraine have] bought to defend themselves.”
(AFP/Getty)
The dialogue got here in gentle of the information that not less than seven folks had been killed and dozens extra injured when bridges collapsed in separate incidents throughout Russia.
Moscow Railways initially blamed the collapse within the Bryansk area, which borders Ukraine, on “unlawful interference within the operation of transport”, in a possible reference to Ukrainian saboteurs, however its Telegram submit was later eliminated.
Distinguished Russian navy blogger Semyon Pegov, who makes use of the title Battle Gonzo, referred to as it “sabotage”.
Neither report may very well be independently verified. There was no rapid remark from Ukraine.
A second bridge collapsed hours later when a freight practice was crossing a bridge within the Kursk area early on Sunday (1 June), in keeping with an area governor, inflicting the same derailment.
Russia’s Investigative Committee mentioned on Sunday that the 2 bridges had collapsed following explosions.
In a 3rd, separate incident, a distinguished Ukrainian partisan group claimed accountability for an assault on relay methods within the occupied Donetsk province, which introduced a brand new Russian rail line to a standstill.
Russia has been hit by dozens of sabotage assaults since Moscow launched its offensive in opposition to Ukraine in 2022, with lots of them focusing on its huge rail community. Kyiv mentioned railways are focused as a result of they’re used to move troops and weapons for deployment within the warfare.
You may observe updates on the Ukraine-Russia warfare in The Impartial’s stay weblog.
At one other level in the course of the panel dialogue, Sands, a visiting professor of legislation at Harvard Regulation College, mentioned that studies of “rampant antisemitism” on the prestigious college are “full nonsense”.