Pavel Filatyev Author

Pavel Filatyev was born in 1988 in Volgodonsk, Russia. He followed his father's footsteps by enlisting in the Russian army as soon as he was of age, later studying and working before re-enlisting during the pandemic. Forced by the terms of his contract - and misinformed about the purpose of the attack - Filatyev was part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. After he was evacuated from the front line two months later, he wrote ZOV, an account of what he witnessed in Ukraine which quickly went viral in Russia. He was later forced to flee Russia to escape prosecution, and is currently based in France. His earnings from ZOV will go towards providing humanitarian and medical aid to Ukrainians impacted by the war. Anna Aslanyan is a journalist, literary translator, and public service interpreter. She grew up in Moscow, lives in London, and feels most at home in books.