Slava Kurilov
| Odin v okeane | Alone in the Ocean Documentary Novel. Chas Masteriv. Kyiv 2021 (Moscow 2004). 110 pages |
An oceanographer by profession, a romantic by nature and a cosmopolitan by voca- tion. The Soviet Union had imposed an exit ban on Slava Kurilov but this was not something he was able to come to terms with. In December 1974 he jumped over- board from the tourist steamship „Sovetsky Soyuz“ near the Philippines.
Without food, drink or diving equipment, just goggles, a snorkel and flippers, he swam some 100 kilometres to the Philippine coast, spending three whole days in the sea. His knowledge of ocean currents and his Yoga experience helped him to survive. At times he swam as if in a trance. His journey to freedom is described in this book writ- ten by himself but only published after his death.
It was only in 1993 that the newspaper Ogonyok was able to publish an abbreviated version of his novel „Flucht“ (Escape) in Russia for the first time in. In 1994 Hachet brought out a much shortened adaptation as a children’s book. Prior to that, the com- plete „Flucht“ appeared only once in the magazine “22” (in Israel in 1986). A book version in Hebrew and in Ukrainian has been published.
