One of Russian’s foremost contemporary authors slammed President Vladimir Putin over his decision of invading Ukraine. 

Mikhail Shishkin, whose books have won the prestigious Russian Booker Prize and the Big Book Award, spoke out about his views on the “horrible crimes” being committed by the country’s military in Ukraine.

“I feel horrible,” Shishkin said in an interview with UK’s Channel 4, “because Russian soldiers are destroying cities and killing people and children, and I’m Russian, So, in my name, such horrible crimes are committed.”

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He went on to say, “We have very complicated history. And you see in Russia, we didn’t have the Destalinization. We didn’t have the Nuremberg trials for the Communist Party. And as a result, we have now a new dictatorship. And the nature of dictatorship is to have enemies and to have war. Now we are all in this war. How can we stop this? We need this Deputinization, we must have this national recognition of guilt.”

This is not the first time Shishkin has been critical of Putin. The author had also opposed the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Shishkin told Channel 4 that while he does not currently reside in Russia, he still keeps in touch with friends and family who do.

He revealed the ordeal faced by Russians amid the increased crackdowns and protests against them over the Ukraine invasion.

“It’s the sense of the end of the world, just apocalyptical,” said Shishkin. “In regarding to Russians, it will, after this war, be in ruin. [Economic] ruin, but first of all, mental ruin. How exactly will Putin leave us? No idea. I think nobody knows, but this war will bring the Putin solution to the end.”

Shishkin has also previously spoken out about his views on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which started on February 24, 2022.

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In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Shishkin – who is in exile – said that he fears returning to his country because of his president.

“The regime’s crime is also that the stain of disgrace has fallen on the entire country,” wrote Shishkin in his essay. “Now Russia is associated not with Russian literature and music but with children under bombardment. Putin’s crime is that he has poisoned people with hate. Putin will go away, but the pain and hate may linger in people’s souls for a long time.”