I read this book with absolute passion. While it is a novel, it is truly an epic—the story of a family told through the greatest upheavals and disasters of the 20th century. Although it is set in Greece, we Ukrainians can deeply relate to this story: a narrative where global events shape your life far more than your own plans.

It is a novel about national conflicts and population displacements, fascism and communism, World War II, violence from all sides. It explores the trap of ”revolutionary struggle,” the dilemmas of duty versus life, and self-sacrifice versus human happiness.

The novel is called ”Niki”, and it was written by Christos Chomenidis, a prominent Greek writer. I was glad to meet him in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, where he traveled at the invitation of the Greek embassy and his Ukrainian publisher. We sat down at PEN Ukraine and spoke about Europe, the past, the future, freedom, war, and peace.

This is Thinking in Dark Times, a podcast series by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet about Ukraine.

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Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, chief editor of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: Christos Chomenidis, a prominent, award-winning Greek writer. He has traveled to Ukraine despite the relentless Russian missile and drone strikes that regularly target the Ukrainian cities.

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Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/thinkinggg
UkraineWorld: ukraineworld.org/en

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SUPPORT:
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Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians.

Donations are welcome via PayPal at: [email protected].

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CONTENTS:

0:03 Intro
2:04 What brought prominent Greek writer Christos Chomenidis to Kyiv despite the ongoing war?
3:05 How does Chomenidis’ novel ”Niki” weave together individual human stories with the challenging 20th-century history of Greece?
4:12 How does the experience of communism differ between Greece and Ukraine, and what forms did it take in each country?
5:56 How does the novel portray the act of destroying one's own house as a sacrifice to communist forces, and how is this understood today?
7:31 How does the novel explore the tension between duty to a greater cause and the pursuit of individual desires and happiness?
11:12 What main similarities does the author find between the Greek and Ukrainian peoples?
12:44 How did Chomenidis experience the fear of air raids in Kyiv, and what does it reveal about Ukrainian resilience?
15:28 Why was the Soviet Union, and even Stalin, romanticized in some Greek left-wing circles, and how does Chomenidis explain this perspective now?
17:41 How does modern Russian propaganda operate in Greece, and why do some Greek parties support Russia based on ”zoopolitics”?
23:17 Do societies with a recent memory of authoritarianism have a stronger capacity or intuition to fight for freedom?
35:12 Why is democracy likened to a ”baby”? What is freedom a ”muscle” that requires constant, everyday struggle and care?
38:28 What gives Christos Chomenidis hope for the future amidst challenging times?