In his new novel, Dmitrij Kapitelman writes with bittersweet humor and deep political insight about family and the (im)possibility of communication in times of old and new wars.

A family from Kyiv sells Russian specialities in Leipzig – vodka, pelmeni, SIM cards, sailor shirts – and also a sense of Eastern European belonging. However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the last item is in short supply. The family’s mother supports Putin. And her son, who loves the Russian language above all, his mother more than anyone, and Kyiv more than any city in the world, is at his wit’s end. For him to return to Ukraine in the middle of the war is unwise. But how else can he save his mother from fascism and the absurd lies told on Russian television?