'Away from Moscow!' — The enduring cry of writer Mykola Khvylovy, the voice of a generation purged by Stalin

Editor's Note: This story is part of the "Hidden Canon"  – a special series celebrating Ukrainian classic literature and aiming to bring it to a wider international audience. The series is supported by the Ukrainian Institute.

One late morning in May 1933, the 39-year-old Ukrainian author Mykola Khvylovy excused himself from the guests in his apartment, telling his fellow writers that he would fetch his new manuscript to read to them.

Instead, upon entering his study, he shot himself in the he ...