Diaries of War: Two Visual Accounts from Ukraine and Russia [A Graphic Novel History]

Powerful graphic journalism that brings to life diary entries of a Ukrainian journalist and a Russian artist grappling with the on-the-ground realities of Putin’s war—by Nora Krug, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and New York Times bestselling illustrator of the On Tyranny adaptation, with a foreword by award-winning historian Timothy Snyder

Immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Nora Krug connected with two anonymous subjects—“K.,” a Ukrainian journalist, and “D.,” a Russian artist—and began what would become a year of correspondence. Diaries of War transforms Krug’s weekly communications with K. and D. into an intimate, illustrated epistolary format. 

In both the graphic adaptation of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and Krug’s own memoir, Belonging, Krug touched on difficult, contentious topics, from personal and societal identity to political conflict and more, with immense skill and compassion. She brings the same moving thoughtfulness to this collection. With millions of Ukrainians displaced, injured, or killed as a result of the conflict, Krug provides a personal look at the sorrowful effects of war on an individual level—such as loss of resources, emotional and existential distress, displacement and disconnection. 

Published as an Op-Comic with the Los Angeles Times, with some entries unique to the book, Diaries of War is a harrowing record of a heart-wrenching historical event that devastated the modern world and continues to alter countless lives.