Amelina, in the prime of her life, received a posthumous Orwell prize in early summer of 2025. As Russian missiles rained upon a town in eastern Ukraine, we can only imagine what the young writer’s final thoughts were. Did she think of her family and friends, or was there no time at all?

Receiving the Orwell prize for literature is an honor, but Victoria Amelina will not have a chance to celebrate her achievement. Now, laid to rest, her unfinished novel tells the tale of Orwell and his vision, where the human experience stands in stark relief against the backdrop of sorrow.

Orwell the Oracle

Eric Arthur Blair, known to the world as George Orwell, is best remembered for his novels portraying a future world full of tyranny and uncontrolled technology. For Orwell, the world he knew faded in the sunset of the British Empire (1903-1950) and the aftermath of two world wars. Interestingly, Orwell wrote of the Russian Communist dictator, Joseph Stalin, in one of his wartime diaries: “One could not have a better example of the moral and emotional shallowness of our time than the fact that we are now all more or less pro-Stalin. This disgusting murderer is temporarily on our side, and so the purges, etc., are suddenly forgotten.”

The Allies of the Second World War included the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR. During the conflict, many openly criticized the hypocrisy of calling a dictator “Uncle Joe” while claiming to rid the world of dictators and the murder of innocent civilians. Orwell continued to examine the themes of war and oppression, most notably captured in his satirical novel Animal Farm, first published in 1945. For Orwell, a writer must speak the truth regardless of the consequences and warn readers of danger on the horizon.

Orwell Transfigured

Historian Olesya Khromeychuk wrote, “Victoria was documenting war crimes perpetrated by the Russians. She was killed in yet another such war crime. We bear witness to her death and that of thousands killed in Ukraine.” For those who support the Ukrainian war effort, literature and the cause meld together in an almost sacred reality. One cannot help but lament the loss of a talented writer at the young age of 37.

Yet, in Russia, we see the equally tragic and senseless killing of Darya Dugin,  the daughter of the famous philosopher Alexander Dugin. Regardless of politics and ideology, Darya’s death also leaves one speechless. A television commentator, Darya was also young (born in 1992) and showed great promise in her field. 

War and Justice Diary: Looking at Women Looking at War is the name of Amelina’s first English book, examining the impact of war from a woman’s perspective.  The book is expected to be released soon, according to news sources. Yet, Orwell and his vision of a broken world are not without hope.