Top Ukrainian financial analyst Sergei Fursa explains Russia’s war on Ukraine through fiction
Sergii Fursa is widely known in Ukraine as a top financial expert, analyst, and financial blogger. His columns about Ukraine's current economic situation and perspectives are widely shared by the Ukrainian media, and his insights have earned him a cachet of respect among the Ukrainian chattering classes.
To bring those views to a wider, international audience, however, Fursa has chosen a different tack – fiction. His first novel, Escaping the Russian Grip, was released in English on Feb. 12.
“You could never capture the hearts of millions of people with a scientific article. People want to consume information in an entertaining way,” Fursa told The New Voice of Ukraine.
“That’s the best way to show the narrative you want to show, not direct propaganda. A story, that, I think, would tell the Western audience what is going on in Ukraine through some of my heroes from the Western world.”
Fursa said did not want to compare himself with Mel Gibson, but added that the 1995 epic historical drama “Braveheart” managed to draw the interests of millions of people around the world to the history of the Scottish fight for independence against England.
Escaping the Russian Grip tells the story of Alex, a military veteran hired by American businessman Mike Lozinski to save his sister Alice, who has been kidnapped by Russian proxies in the east of Ukraine.
“The book is written in the style of an action movie, so it is highly recommended for fans of the genre,” the book description on Amazon reads.
When asked why the acclaimed financial analyst decided to write a fiction story, Fursa says the story stuck in his head and the only way he knew to get rid of it was to write it down. The novel is completely fictional, though it was inspired by the events and reality of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has already killed more than 14,000 people since its start in 2014.
“I am a true graphomaniac. I really love to write,” Fursa joked.
Escaping the Russian Grip was originally published in 2016 in Russian.
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