Profile pre-empts Russian soldier’s account of Ukraine war

Profile has pre-empted Pavel Filatyev’s account of his experiences serving on the frontline during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, translated from Russian by Anna Aslanyan. 

UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada and including audio, to ZOV: Lies and Corruption Within Putin’s War in Ukraine were acquired by editorial director Nick Humphrey from Rachel Clements at Abner Stein, on behalf of Ksenia Tserkovskaya at the Deborah Harris Agency. Rights have been sold in 13 territories so far, including to Random House in the US, Albin Michel in France and Hoffmann & Campe in Germany. It will be published in the UK in February 2023.

Filatyev was a paratrooper in the Russian army, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Part of the invasion force that shelled the city of Kherson, Filatyev grew sickened and angry at his part in what he came to see as an unjust war. After he was evacuated from the front line with an eye injury two months later, Filatyev then refused to return to the war zone. 

“As an act of conscience, he felt compelled to post a bombshell exposé of what he had witnessed in Ukraine on social media,” the synopsis reads. “With the help of the New Dissidents Foundation and Gulagu.net, he was able to leave Russia to escape prosecution for going public with his protest against the war and, after a perilous journey, reached France, where he has requested political asylum. He is now able to speak openly and share the truth about the war, the Russian military and government.

“A day-by-day account of how the Russian army crossed into Ukraine and captured the city of Kherson in the face of heavy resistance, ZOV is both a testimony to the horrific destruction of war and a damning indictment of Vladimir Putin and the corruption that controls the Russian people.”

Filatyev’s earnings from the publication will be donated to charitable organisations providing humanitarian and medical aid to Ukrainians impacted by the war.

“This book is the story of a Russian soldier who was involved in the war in Ukraine and is now trying to make sense of why his corrupt government sent him there,” he said. “I hope that my account of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the circumstances those on the front line found themselves in and what they think about it all, will help ensure that humanity never resorts to weapons again. 

“The events in Ukraine are proof that hatred and aggression lead nowhere. This is history’s lesson, which mankind has failed to learn time and time again – but I have faith that together we can stop this.”

Humphrey added: “In all that has been written about Putin’s horrific war in Ukraine, Pavel Filatyev’s first-hand account of the invasion stands out for its shocking honesty and the light it sheds – both on the awful brutality of the conflict and on the corruption of modern Russia. We at Profile admire his decision to risk his life to expose the reality of a rotten, self-serving regime and are proud to be part of what will be a major international publishing event next year.”