Tamara Duda

Tamara Anatoliyivna Duda (; born 5 January 1976), known in Ukraine by the pseudonym Tamara Horikha Zernya , is a Ukrainian writer and translator. Having first become known for her Facebook page documenting her time as a volunteer in the Donbas during the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Duda has since gone on to become a novelist, with her debut novel Daughter winning the 2022 Shevchenko National Prize for Literature, among other accolades.

Early life and education Duda was born in Kyiv in 1976. Her father was a physicist from Nedryhailiv, while her mother was a mathematics teacher from Sumy. In 1992, Duda graduated from the Ukrainian Humanities Lyceum; the following year, she started studying journalism at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, graduating in 1998. Between 2003 and 2005, Duda studied at Kyiv International University, after which she embarked on a career as a translator, primarily of economic texts from English to Ukrainian.

Volunteering and rise to prominence Between 2014 and 2016, Duda volunteered in the Joint Forces Operation in the Donbas following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War. After observing injured Ukrainians in hospital with eye injuries caused by shrapnel, Duda started purchasing tactical glasses from sources including the American government, and subsequently donating these to the Ukrainian army. During her time on the frontline, Duda began posting on Facebook under the pseudonym Tamara Horikha Zernya, going on to garner a large following. The story, set in the present day, follows Stanislava, a widowed mathematics professor whose husband was killed during the Russo-Ukrainian War, who returns to her hometown in Cherkasy Oblast to help a friend investigate the whereabouts of a missing bride. The novel notably ends with Stanislava dancing on Vladimir Putin's grave.

Personal life Duda is married to musician Svyatoslav Boyko, with whom she has three children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Duda and her family relocated from Kyiv to a village near Hlukhiv in Sumy Oblast.