Matyusha, Pavlo and Viktoriya
Biography
Pavlo is a businessman (studied MBA at HEC in Paris) and writer (published poetry collections and a novel). Viktoriya is a literary agent for Ukrainian writers abroad. They are married. They have four children. They were ten years old when the USSR broke up and twenty years old during the Orange Revolution. They are part of the new Ukrainian intellectual class, open to the West. When Russia declares war, Viktoriya is able to go into exile in France with their four children (she is also a conference interpreter at the European Parliament). While he could accompany her in exile, as the father of four children, Pavlo decides to enlist as a captain in the Ukrainian army. He chose Voltaire as his military call name. Voltaire because Pavlo loves France and speaks French fluently. Voltaire, because Pavlo is a combat instructor in the army, and “the one who brings the training, brings enlightenment”. And Voltaire, because it starts with a V, like his wife’s first name.
