Open letter from translators and interpreters of Ukrainian or Russian into English condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Translators and interpreters of Ukrainian or Russian into English from all over the world condemn the RF invasion of Ukraine 

February 24 - April 7, 2022

We, the undersigned translators and interpreters of Ukrainian and/or Russian into English, condemn the Russian Federation’s military invasion of Ukraine. As translators and interpreters, we have dedicated our professional lives to the integrity of cross-cultural communication. But the Russian regime is attempting to justify military assault by falsifying history and distorting the meaning of key cultural and historical concepts. We acknowledge today’s statement by the Executive Committee of the Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies condemning the assault. We too stand in solidarity with those who oppose this war.  

[Updates: AWSS has also posted a statement. BASEES has also posted a statement. AATSEEL has also posted a statement. The Shevchenko Scientific Society also has an open letter that all may sign.]

[Update: here is a list of ways to donate to various causes in Ukraine, compiled by Oleh Kotsyuba. Here is another list Timothy Snyder shared on his substack. Please consider donating.]

[Update: Some have asked why I limited this open letter to only UKR <> ENG or RUS <> ENG translators and interpreters. There are 3 reasons:

1: These signers are all subject matter experts in the languages and cultures most directly affected. When these voices come together and start to form a critical mass, their shared message of opposition to the invasion may be more likely to be heard.

2: These signers have more "skin in the game" and more to lose by signing an open letter. Some signers may face reprisals.

3: Limiting languages to only these language pairs, but broadening the specialization to include all forms of translation and interpreting, creates an opportunity for unity: literary translation and technical translation, academics and industry, established and emerging, translation and interpreting. We have freelancers, creative writers, academics, and industry professionals from Ukraine, Australia, Belarus, England, Germany, the Russian Federation, Scotland, and the United States.

NB: One Ukrainian national politely declined to sign this open letter, saying that signing letters creates a false sense of having "done something" when what really helps are funds; materiel; political pressure; and action from world leaders. So please attend a rally, contact your government representatives, or, if you are able, donate to one of the organizations listed in the update above.]

Signed:

Elizabeth Adams, translator

Tatyana Albert, freelance English-Russian interpreter and translator

Elina Alter, translator

Mark Andryczyk, translator

Anthony Anemone, Emeritus Professor of Russian, The New School

Anna Aslanyan, journalist and translator

Alex Averbuch, poet and translator

Georgina Barker, translator and scholar

Leonie Barron, Translator & subtitler (Dip Trans, CIOL)

Olga B. Baxtin, interpreter and translator

Fiona Bell, translator

Debra Bénard, translator, United Nations

Michelle A. Berdy, translator

Alexandra Berlina, translator

Dmitry Beschetny, translator 

Uilleam Blacker, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies

Liv Bliss, translator

Maria Bloshteyn, translator

Tatiana Bonch-Osmolovskaya, writer, philologist, translator

Dr. Liliya Bormotova, Immigration Court Interpreter

Svitlana Budzhak-Jones, Interpreter/translator

Olga Bukhina, translator, writer, children’s literature specialist

Geoffrey Carlson, translator

Robert Chandler, translator

Vitaly Chernetsky, scholar and translator

Maya Chhabra, writer and translator

Michael Chumak, NAATI-accredited Ukrainian into English translator (Australia)

Richard Coombes, translator

Patrick John Corness, translator

Jennifer Croft, writer and translator

John Crowfoot, translator

Stephen Dalziel, writer and translator

Brad Damaré, translator

Peter Daniels, poet and translator

Gina Dark, Translator of Russian and French into English, Teacher

Rachael Daum, translator and writer

Huw Davies, translator

Veronika Demichelis, translator and localization professional

Anand Dibble, translator, Stanford University

Boris Dralyuk, editor and translator

Sasha Dugdale, translator

Caryl Emerson, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University

Maria Jacqueline Evans, Translator

Shelley Fairweather-Vega, FairVega Translations

Nora Seligman Favorov, translator

Slava Faybysh, translator

Julia Fedorova, translator and interpreter

Tom Fennell, translator

Helen Ferguson, translator

Will Firth, translator (Berlin)

Anne O. Fisher, Senior Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Translation and Interpreting Studies

Alex Fleming, translator

Molly Flynn, translator and Lecturer in Theatre and Performance, Birkbeck University of London

Sibelan Forrester, professor, poet and translator

Nika Franchi, Russian-English Translator.

John Freedman, writer and translator

Elizabeth Geballe, Assistant Professor, Indiana University

Natasha Geilman, Certified Interpreter

Daisy Gibbons, translator

Alyssa Dinega Gillespie, scholar and translator

Amelia Glaser, translator and professor at UCSD

Rawley Grau, translator

Anna Gunin, translator

Maria Guzenko, translator

Lisa Hayden, literary translator

Jack Heaton, medical translator

Annette Hennessy, translator

Kelly Herold, translator and educator

Elizabeth Hewitt, translator

Dominique Hoffman, translator

Christine Lysnewycz Holbert, Publisher, Lost Horse Press

Bob Holman, poet and translator

Halyna Hryn, translator

Siriol Hugh-Jones, Legal Translator (Russian/German – English), BA Hons (Cantab), DipTrans (IoLET), Diploma in Law, Diploma in Legal Practice, MCIL, MITI

Yuliya Ilchuk, translator

Marisa Irwin, translator

Michael Ishenko, CT

Anne-Marie Jackson, translator

Sabrina Jaszi, translator and writer

Olena Jennings, translator and writer

Irina Jesionowski, Russian conference and court interpreter, translator

Emily Justice, translator

Mirgul Kali, translator

David Kamen, translator

Yelena Karl, freelance translator

Alex Karsavin, researcher and translator

Bryan Karetnyk, translator

J. Kates, Zephyr Press

Martha Kelly, translator and associate professor at the University of Missouri

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, translator

Helena Kernan, translator

Ostap Kin, editor and translator

Zachary Murphy King, translator

Margaret Kings, translator

Ali Kinsella, translator

Thomas J. Kitson, translator

Anton Klevansky, Member of AIIC, Accredited Freelance Conference Interpreter with the EU Interpreting Services

Hilah Kohen, University of Pennsylvania

Ani Kokobobo, scholar and translator

Steve Komarnyckyj, poet and translator based in Europe

Nina Kossman, writer, poet, translator, artist

Wasyl Kowalenko, NAATI accredited Ukrainian Interpreter & Translator

Anna Krushelnitskaya, writer, translator

Galia Kullmann, interpreter

Nodar Lakhuti, translator

Tyler Langendorfer, translator

Svetlana Lavochkina, writer and translator

Max Lawton, novelist and translator

Enya Lennon, translator

Ksenia Levandovskaya, translator

Alisa Ballard Lin, assistant professor, The Ohio State University

Anna Livermore, translator

Olga Livshin, poet and translator

Colleen Lucey, assistant professor at University of Arizona

Oksana Lutsyshyna, University of Texas at Austin

Grace Mahoney, translator, editor of the Lost Horse Press Contemporary Ukrainian Poetry Series

Dmitri Manin, poetry translator

Steven McGrath, Translator

Askold Melnyczuk, translator

Ronald Meyer, translator

Derek Mong, poet & translator, Byron K. Trippet Assistant Professor of English, Wabash College

Melanie Moore, translator

Ainsley Morse, translator, professor at Dartmouth College

Valzhyna Mort, poet and translator

Naomi Mottram, translator

Alexander Motyl, Rutgers University-Newark

Robin Munby, translator

Nina Murray, poet and translator

Natalya Mytareva, Russian interpreter

Michael M. Naydan, Woskob Family Professor of Ukrainian Studies and Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature, Pennsylvania State University

Olga Nazarova, translator

Rita Shabnam Nezami, scholar, teacher, and translator

Alex Niemi, Translator and Writer

Laurel Nolen, translator

Julia Istomina Oden, localization project manager, translator, interpreter

Natalia Okolita, translator

Jamie Olson, Professor of English, Saint Martin’s University

Margarit Ordukhanyan, translator

Dzvinia Orlowsky, poet and translator

Eugene Ostashevsky, translator and educator

Benjamin Paloff, translator and professor at the University of Michigan

Ksenia Panevkina, interpreter

Tanya Paperny, writer & translator

Heli Pärna, translator

Fiona Paterson, legal translator

Teresa Pearce, translator

Pamela Perkins, translator and teacher

Timothy Perrin, translator, United Nations

Natasha Perova, Glas

Vera Peshkova, technical translator

Wanda Phipps, poet and translator

Elana Pick, Interpreter, Translator, Educator

Tetiana Povorozniuk, NAATI certified interpreter and translator (Australia)

Sara Jo Powell, translator

E.J. Pryor, translator

Olena Radievska, MAppLing, MA (Transl), GradCertEd (TESOL), Member of AUSIT, NAATI Certified Ukrainian/Russian/English Translator

Oliver Ready, translator, University of Oxford

Philip Redko, translator

Caroline Rees, translator

Maria Rewakowicz, poet and translator

Karen Rosenflanz, translator and scholar

Olga A. Rozell, Freelance Interpreter

Wolf Rubinchyk, translator from Minsk, Belarus.

Annie Rutherford, translator

Stephanie Sandler, translator and professor at Harvard University

Karen Yesowich Schmucker, translator

Marian Schwartz, Translator

Steve Shabad, translator

Ekaterina Shatalova, translator, University of Glasgow

Julia Sherwood, translator

Myrosia Stefaniuk, translator

Sergiy Sychov, researcher and translator

Marjolein Thickett, translator (AITI, ACIL)

Anne Thompson-Ahmadova, translator

Robin Thomson, translator

Eugenia Tietz-Sokolskaya, translator

Yuri Tkacz, translator (Australia)

Virlana Tkacz, theatre director & translator

Lena Traer, translator

Alena Trainova, NAATI accredited legal translator (Australia)

Saulé Tuganbaeva, interpreter, Moscow and Chicago

Joanne Turnbull, translator

Russell Scott Valentino, Professor and Chair, Department of Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures, Indiana University

Maria Vassileva, translator

Ellen Vayner, Translator and Professor, College of Wooster

Anatoly Vishevsky, scholar and translator

Sarah Vitali, translator, University of Cambridge

Katerina Warns, translator

Lucy Webster, translator

Isaac Stackhouse Wheeler, poet and translator

Patricia Wheeler, translator

Mary Jane White, translator

Reuben Woolley, translator

Matvei Yankelevich, Columbia University

Francine Yorke, translator

Katherine E. Young, poet and translator

Josephine von Zitzewitz, scholar and translator

The open letter is also up on the LA Review of Books. UKR<>ENG or RUS<>ENG translators and interpreters can use this contact form to request that their names be added: https://www.anneofisher.com/contact