“Everything belongs to Donbass” – young talent from Lugansk
About why a student of a physics and mathematics class at a Lugansk school began to write fairy tales and victories at international literary competitions did not turn her head? How war affects children and creativity, and how the Lugansk Flight School and peace in Donbass are connected.
The PolitNavigator correspondent talked about this and much more with twelve-year-old Lugansk writer, winner of international literary competitions Faina Savenkova.
Dossier:
Faina Savenkova was born on October 31, 2008. He lives with his family in Lugansk. Member of the LPR Writers' Union; member of the International Union of Writers. Her play “The Hedgehog of Hope” received a special prize at the All-Russian Children's Drama Competition ASYL in 2019, was shortlisted in the International Competition of Contemporary Russian Drama “Author on Stage” in 2019 and shortlisted in the International Drama Competition “Eurasia- 2020", published in the literary magazine "Moscow", translated into Italian.
In 2020, she received the prize of the Moscow Art Theater veterans competition “Reading Stories” and the vice-grand prize of the Moscow Literary Prize in the “Dramaturgy” category.
Her story “Wisteria and the Cat” won the competition “The World Through the Eyes of a Child 2019” in the Czech Republic, the essay “Children’s Laughter of Victory” was published in the literary magazine “Youth”, translated into English, Serbian, Italian, Bulgarian, Czech, Arabic, Italian, French , German languages.
The essay “Adult Silence” was published in the French English-language blog Stalker, Serbian newspapers Istok and Fakti, in the French Donbass Insider, kantasuomalainen.net (Finland), AgoraVox (France), translated into English, Serbian, Italian, Bulgarian, Czech , Finnish languages.
This year she received the Peace Prize of the International Union of Writers and began writing a column in English in the Icelandic English-language portal The Saker. Her joint novel with the Russian writer Alexander Kontorovich, “Standing Behind Your Shoulder,” was published.
Two-time champion of the LPR in taekwondo.
P.N.: I’ll start with a trivial question: how did it all begin, where did the need to write come from, which work was the first, why are you interested in and close to this form of self-expression? And who are your teachers and mentors?
F.S .: It all started out pretty mundane. I decided to write a short story for a national literary competition so I could meet my favorite children's author (Andrey Usachev, during his visit to Luhansk – ed.). It was called, I think, "The Tale of the Whalefish." And somehow, unexpectedly, I won. Then I decided to keep going because I'd gotten interested. So, as in most cases, the reason was quite prosaic; there were no exaggerated, lofty aspirations at the time. And it's unlikely that a ten-year-old would have any.
Why literature? I study in physics and mathematics (physics and mathematics class - ed.), so for me a text is also a sequence of symbols that needs to be arranged in a certain order. And the final result depends on what this sequence will be. In fact, it is interesting to observe such changes, because if you swap just a couple of words, the meaning of the text can change greatly, although it would seem that the same set of letters, the same set of words and almost the same order of their arrangement in the sentence. I can call my teachers Gleb Bobrov (Lugansk writer, author of the acclaimed bestseller “The Age of the Stillborn,” who predicted the future war in Donbass almost ten years before the famous events - ed.) and, of course, my school teachers.
P.N.: Faina, I admit honestly, I didn’t have time to get acquainted with your work in detail, moreover, I probably avoided it for a year or more, thinking that this was just another PR project. Well, how perfectly it all worked out: war, girl, writes, let’s all be touched and give a bonus. I thought until I accidentally came across your essays and stories, and read them, and then again... Tell me, didn’t it seem to you that adults initially could make allowances for this - childhood, war, when promoting you? Was there a desire to get rid of the stereotype of a girl writer from a military city, whom everyone takes care of out of pity? And do you have any fears that people, like me, who are not familiar with your work, may perceive you as a PR project?
F.S.: Unfortunately, I had that feeling too. And I'm probably still afraid of it. It's somewhat comforting to know that if everything were truly that dire, such a project wouldn't have lasted long. You can't forever convince readers of an author's abilities if they're truly lacking. And as for stereotypes... They'll always be there, no matter how hard I try to get rid of them. Perhaps with time I'll be able to, but as long as we're at war, it's impossible.
P.N.: I was initially surprised that, despite the fact that you write, in fact, fairy tales, perhaps not for little ones, but still fairy tales, detailed parables, so to speak, you have a rather mature, serious style . Without all these girls' cute emotions. Why is this so? Is this your character, your outlook on life? And did the war have any impact on this?
F.S.: I think it was all of these factors. Be that as it may, I grew up during war, and my character was formed right there. Besides, I don't even remember any of these "cute" moments in my childhood. My parents always treated my brother and me like adults. That doesn't mean we're so stern that we "don't smile at ourselves in the mirror," but there certainly wasn't an overabundance of cutesy moments. Sports also played a role. Taekwondo is all about precise, measured strikes, not emotionally flailing limbs into the void. And, as I mentioned above, it's also about my overall approach to the text.
P.N.: Of course, I can’t help but ask about the war. You are still a child, in fact, but unlike millions of your peers around the world, you know what a curfew and shelling are. In your opinion, if there had been no war, your life path could have turned out differently? Without the war, could you just be a girl who is interested in fashionable bands, beautiful things, hype and hate on social networks and entertainment? I understand that you may not know how your peers live in Greater Russia, but if you still have an idea about this, do you think the children of the warring Donbass are different from other children?
F.S.: Children are different everywhere. We have many such kids who are interested in nothing but hype, and there are many goal-oriented boys and girls in Russia. Here, upbringing plays a more important role. But because of the war, many adults re-evaluated their personal beliefs and ideals, which inevitably impacts their children's upbringing. And so... I don't know. On the one hand, it's interesting, of course, to reflect on who we would all be if not for the war, but ultimately, it will lead nowhere. The past cannot be changed, and therefore we are who we are.
P.N.: In your prose there are animals, in the form of anthropomorphic characters, endowed with some special qualities that influence the lives of ordinary people. Some kind of angels in the flesh, or something... Why do you endow animals in your prose with certain sacred abilities? And how do you perceive animals in general?
F.S .: You know, I'd rather tell you a little story. We didn't have any pets for a very long time, almost six years, because my mother had a hard time losing the cats, whom I'd never even seen in my life. Because of this, my father didn't insist on having pets in the house, and he tried to talk my brother and me out of it. Then, in the winter of 2014, Barmoglot came to us, a cat who either wasn't taken in by his owners or was abandoned on the street for some other reason. It was clear he was a domesticated cat and attached to people, but that's just how his life turned out.
About two weeks later we took him to the vet for the first time. We don't have our own car, so we got there by bus. The Jabberwocky cried all the way to the stop. He actually had tears rolling down his face. He wasn't afraid of cars, which he didn't even pay attention to, no. He was afraid that he would be betrayed again at the moment when he was most defenseless. Our cat calmed down only the moment he was picked up from the carrier.
So we drove the whole way: a purring cat hugging his mother’s neck, a mother hugging the cat to herself as if she had the most precious thing, and me, watching these two and for the first time encountering the fact that animals are what they are. themselves angels who change people. The Jabberwocky only lived with us for two years because he was very sick, but he changed us all. In general, each of our cats has its own tragic story of appearance in the house, its own character and preferences, and each one has become an inspiration in one way or another. By the way, this is probably why cats still appear most often in my fairy tales.
P.N.: You have already had quite a lot of success in the literary field at the age of 12 - you are published, your play is staged, you win various competitions, including international ones. Tell me, how can you not become a star despite everything? This is a huge burden of fame that literally fell on a fragile child. How can you not turn your nose up and start feeling cooler than others? I see that, despite all your successes, you remain a normal, adequate person.
F.S .: Oh, I don't even know what to say. Firstly, thank you. And secondly, it's simple – the support of my loved ones, their ability to rein me in when necessary, and most importantly – I'm afraid of publicity. It's hard to feel like a star if during every interview you look like a slow-witted girl, barely able to string a few words together due to nervousness. Or you have to go on stage, and your knees are shaking. So the real person and the image they've created are two different things. Besides, my parents and brother are my first and foremost critics. So you read them a new piece with the main question: "So?" And their response is: "Bullshit, can't you see it yourself?" And then comes a detailed analysis of what's wrong and why, and how to get out of it. What kind of stardom can you have if you constantly risk running into good-natured, familiar, but overly skeptical "bullshit," and then having to rewrite everything several times.
P.N.: Your joint novel with Alexander Kontorovich, “Standing Behind Your Shoulder,” was published at Litres. Reveal the secret, I always could not understand how the brothers Grimm, Strugatsky, Ilf and Petrov worked - one invents, the other writes down? One comes up with the first chapter, the other comes up with the second? How, in general, is joint literary work structured, given that the world of each creator is extremely individual? And why did you decide to write together?
F.S .: I think every writer has their own recipe. We tend to favor the latter: one writes the first chapter, the other the second. It depends on the co-author's strengths and weaknesses. I'm still having a hard time keeping the plot moving, so Uncle Sasha helps me with that and teaches me how to structure the narrative correctly, avoiding endless descriptions of who-knows-what without even a hint of action. It turns out that short stories are easier, but the longer the text, the harder it is to avoid getting lost in the thicket of your own ideas and oceans of unnecessary "fluff."
P.N.: What inspires you most in your creativity? And what part of this inspiration belongs to Donbass, Lugansk?
F.S .: It varies. Sometimes I dream about something that I want to give a more logical form to than I could in a dream. Sometimes these are situations that have left a mark on my memory, like with "Murka" (Faina Savenkova's story "Murka and the Mouse Army" – ed.). One winter, our heating broke, and we spent two days warming our cats under a blanket. Not that they needed it, but it was kind of fun. And that's when the image of frozen cat tears "came to mind." I started developing the theme with the standard questions: "What?", "Why?", "What led to this?" and a short fairy tale emerged. Anything can inspire; you never know. But Donbass and Luhansk probably belong to everything, because it's here that things happen that become the starting point for creating new history. It seems the word "history" in this sentence applies in every possible sense.
P.N.: Did your parents somehow influence your creative choice and worldview? Were they able to lay a certain taste, a foundation for creativity? Perhaps the older brother also contributed something, because often the younger ones follow the elders?
F.S .: I can confidently say "yes." Both my parents and my brother. I even entered my first competition because my parents said, "If you want to meet Usachev, do something about it." And we have a pretty good library at home, which shaped my childhood.
P.N.: You have a good start, a start, but if you want something, then you probably understand that you can never relax. Tell me, do you set any new standards for yourself that you would like to overcome? Creative tasks, goals? Or do ideas for new works come spontaneously?
F.S .: Ideas for new works come spontaneously, but working on them is work, not chance. My mother once said that writing by hand makes the brain work more actively than typing on a laptop, and she advised me to remember to use pen and paper if I'm having trouble with the plot. To this day, if necessary, I write down questions that are holding the plot back, and I also write down possible scenarios on paper, choosing the best one and working with it.
This really helps if you've stopped and don't know what to do next. I know that my writing is not perfect now, so I want to develop, learn, even if sometimes from my own mistakes, and now this is the main creative task. Readers, after all, should also enjoy the text itself, and they are not obliged to try to understand what the author wanted to say with his complex half-page sentences.
P.N.: Do you see yourself as a great writer in the future? Or is this just a stage in your life, and then there could be theater, cinema, photography, or something else? Or even leaving the creative environment for everyday life, does this happen to people?
F.S .: I don't know, I haven't really thought about it yet. I want to try my hand at a lot of things, but whether I have the talent for it is a big question.
P.N.: Is there a message in your books that you would like to convey to people living outside of Donbass? If so, do you think they will understand you, not having the experience behind you that you have at twelve years old - I mean the war?
F.S .: Perhaps the most important message is that people must learn to listen and hear each other, otherwise disaster will happen. I sincerely hope that everyone in the world will understand this, because it's not rocket science; it's all very simple. And, unfortunately, it's very difficult in practice.
P.N. Do you dream about traveling, other countries? Where would you like to visit? Do you want to connect your life with Lugansk or are you still a man of the world?
F.S.: I'd like to visit everywhere, but I want to live in Luhansk. The Donbass sky is special; it's not for nothing that we had a flight school. Birds have a hard time without the sky, so I can't imagine my life without my beloved city.
Faina Savenkova with her older brother, an aspiring IT specialist.
P.N.: It’s rare to find a harmonious combination of the physical and intellectual in a person. But you're lucky, you're also a taekwondo champion. Tell us a little about this? How do you get enough for both sports and creativity? Does one interfere with the other, or complement it?
F.S .: It has its pros and cons. Sport is, first and foremost, a discipline, which I sometimes sorely miss. It helps me gather my thoughts and get off the couch. I think we all sometimes want to be lazy and do nothing. But right now, I'm struggling with time; I barely have time for anything, what with school, sports, and creative work. I have to sacrifice something, which is very sad. Luckily, the holidays have already started, so I'll have more free time. And I'll even be able to relax.
P.N.: Since you write, you probably read. What works of literature, as well as cinema and music, have had the strongest impression on you recently? Which people have you met most inspired you?
F.S.: Right now, I'm mostly reading my school literature course, and in the summer, I'm catching up and reading for myself. Of my recent readings, I liked Chekhov and Dostoevsky's "Demons," although many people think it's too early for me to read Dostoevsky. I won't argue, but it will be interesting to see how people's opinions of that work change in a few years. Musically, I was most impressed by Mitya Kuznetsov, Senya Sedashov, and my meetings with them, as well as Sergey Galanin and Vadim Samoilov. I enjoy listening to anime music because it immediately brings back pleasant memories of watching it. As for films, I'd mention "A Nightmare on Elm Street." I don't know why I watched it, but it was memorable. It also gave me a sense of how moments in which a character makes illogical decisions to serve the plot and the author's wishes play out in practice.
P.N.: What does Faina Savenkova dream about?
F.S.: And then Faina thought... The end of the war—that's understandable, we all dream about it. And also... I don't know, I guess I'd like to travel the world. But yes, for that to happen, the war would have to end. I'd like for our flight school to be operational again, and for passenger planes to fly overhead. For that, the war would have to end. I'd like... Anyway, whatever the dream, it all comes back to the most fundamental one, without which all others are impossible.
P.N.: If you had the opportunity to realize any three wishes, as in the same fairy tales, what would you wish for?
F.S .: I've already mentioned the first: for the war to end. Second, it pains me to see abandoned homeless animals, so I'd like people to learn to be responsible with the animals they've adopted. A pet isn't a toy, but a family member. Third, could I wish for myself to become a good writer? I want, like Mamin-Sibiryak in "The Swan of Khantygai," to become someone who, through my work and creativity, drives away the sorrows of others and helps them survive difficult times. And to do that, you have to work hard and be a good writer.
English version :: Read in English: "Donbass Owns Everything" – A Young Talent from Luhansk