Manga depicting the resistance to the occupation of Crimea created in Ukraine

The manga “A Butterfly’s Wingbeat” has been published in Kyiv. It is a Japanese-style comic book about Ukrainian resistance during the occupation of Crimea. 

“A Butterfly’s Wingbeat” is a documentary story based on real events from the life of Crimean artist Bohdan Ziza. The occupying authorities sentenced him to 15 years in prison on politically motivated, fabricated charges of terrorism and vandalism.

A team from the Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Crimean Platform office worked on the project for a year. The book was presented just before the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea to help raise international awareness of the crimes continuing to be committed by the occupiers. The Japanese style was chosen to express gratitude to Japan for its support of Ukraine.

The text was written by Maryana Sachyk, with illustrations by Dmytro Kolodych and Rostyslav Sushko. Timur Sandrovych prepared the Japanese translation, which was edited by Erika Asai, and Anna Vovchenko translated the work into English.

Opening remarks were delivered by Olena Kovalska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Shysholin, Vice Rector for International Relations at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, and Takao Asamura, Head of the Cultural Section of the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine. The event was moderated by Nelia Hrynyshyn, Head of the Crimea Platform Department.

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The event also featured a panel discussion, entitled, “12 years of resistance to the occupation of Crimea: Speaking out so that the world hears.” Participants included Oleksandra Barkova, social activist and Bohdan Ziza’s sister; Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group; Liliia Omelianenko, co-founder of the publishing house “Vydavnytstvo;” and Takashi Hirano, journalist and photographer.

“The numbers show the scale of resistance by Ukrainian citizens in Crimea and how Russia is intensifying pressure and repression on the peninsula,” said Skrypnyk. “There are currently more than 200 Crimean political prisoners. For me, Ziza is definitely a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance in Crimea. His protest against the war in Ukraine and his struggle for Ukrainians there, for our citizens, continues even in captivity.”

“A Butterfly’s Wingbeat” will be released in Ukrainian by Vydavnytstvo Publishing House, as well as in English and Japanese.

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Images: Crimea Platform

Copy editing: Ben Angel