Launch of Mikail Eldin's 'The Sky Wept Fire'

At the start of the first Chechen war in the 1990s Mikail Eldin was a naïve arts journalist, but by the end of the second war he had become a battle-hardened war reporter and mountain partisan. His memoir The Sky Wept Fire traces the conflict’s history and presents a glimpse into the lives of the Chechen resistance grounded in testimony and personal experience.

After a reading of the text, Mikail Eldin and translator Anna Gunin will participate in a panel chaired by Vaughan Smith, founder of the Frontline Club. The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception in the Berrick Saul foyer.

MIKAIL ELDIN worked as a journalist, before taking up arms in the conflict with Russia. He eventually left Chechnya in fear for his life and secured political asylum in Norway, where he now lives. The Sky Wept Fire received an English PEN Writers in Translation Award.

ANNA GUNIN read Russian at Bristol University. She has translated stories for anthologies, plays for the Royal Court Theatre, German Sadulaev's novel I am a Chechen! and film scripts by Denis Osokin and Yuri Arabov. Her translations of Pavel Bazhov's folk tales are included in Russian Magic: Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (Penguin Classics).

VAUGHAN SMITH is an English news pioneer and independent video journalist. He has covered conflicts in countries such as Iraq, Bosnia, Chechnya and Kosovo, and is an advocator of greater support for freelances operating in war zones. Smith ran the freelance agency Frontline News TV, and founded the Frontline Club in London in 2003 to promote independent journalism and better understanding of international news and its coverage.

The event is open to the public. If you wish to attend, please book a free ticket through Eventbrite.

For more information please contact Alice Olsson.