A Brief History of a Long War: Ukraine’s Fight Against Russian Domination

The informative and inspiring graphic nonfiction debut by Ukrainian researcher and podcaster Naiem assumes that most readers outside Ukraine know little of its history. In a framing device, a woman named Vika takes shelter from bomb blasts and finds solidarity with her fellow evacuees. From there, Naiem deftly synthesizes past and present as she tracks tensions from 10th-century Kyivan Rus, when a powerful, newly Christian Ukraine was closely tied to Byzantium, up through Russia’s recent and ongoing attempts to seize Ukrainian territory under the guise of “liberating” Russian speakers from fascism. Ukraine’s tradition of courageous resistance is well documented by Naiem, as is its long history of oppression at the hands of Russia. During the Holodomor (Great Famine) of 1932–1933, an estimated 3.3 million Ukrainians died because of Soviet theft of land and grain—but numerous peasant farmers fought back. This spirit continues in the pro-democracy Orange Revolution and recent grassroots fundraising to supply soldiers resisting Russian military attacks. Artists Vus and Kypibid’s delicately shaded, innovatively paneled pencil work makes room for just one color: orange—not only for accents, but for backgrounds, walls of flame, and entire crowd scenes. The effect suggests a people inseparable from their drive for freedom. This packs a punch. (Jan.)