Manga about Crimean artist's resistance presented in Kyiv

The Ukrainian-Japanese Center of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute hosted a presentation of the documentary manga "A Flutter of Butterfly Wings" - the world's first manga about Crimea, dedicated to the resistance of Ukrainian citizens during the occupation of the peninsula.

This was reported by the press service of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea.

The manga tells the real story of Crimean artist and activist Bohdan Ziza, who was illegally sentenced to 15 years in prison by the occupation court on trumped-up charges after Russia's full-scale invasion. The Japanese-style comic symbolizes Japan's gratitude for supporting Ukraine during the war.

The event included a panel discussion "12 Years of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea: Speaking Out for the World to Hear" with the artist's sister Oleksandra Barkova, the head of the Crimean Human Rights Group Olha Skrypnyk, co-founder of the Vydavnytstvo publishing house Lilia Omelianenko, and Japanese journalist Takashi Hirano. They discussed how to convey the truth about the occupied Crimea, political prisoners, and human rights violations through art and the manga format.

The discussion emphasized that more than 200 Crimean political prisoners are currently in captivity, and the story of Bohdan Ziza has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. The participants emphasized that communicating the topic through manga allows the international audience to better understand the realities of the occupation.

The initiative is timed to coincide with the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and aims to draw the attention of the international community to the crimes of the occupiers, reminding that the resistance of Crimeans has been going on for 12 years.

In May 2022, Bohdan Ziza, an artist from Yevpatoria, committed an anti-war act: he poured yellow and blue paint on the facade of the Russian administration building and tried to set it on fire. This was his protest against Russia's war in Ukraine. His actions quickly attracted the attention of Russian security forces, and he was detained the next day. Bohdan was charged with terrorism, and in June 2023, a court sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Анна Бальчінос