Croatian writer Slavenka Drakulić, known for her books on communism and Balkans, dies

Slavenka Drakulić, a 76-year-old Croatian writer and journalist, died shortly after the release of her new book, Why I Never Learned to Cook.

Her death was reported by the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list, with which she had collaborated.

Slavenka Drakulić was one of the most famous Croatian authors in the world. In Ukraine, she was known primarily for her journalistic writings on communism, post-communist societies, the Yugoslav Wars, and war crimes.

The writer was born on July 4, 1949, in Rijeka. She studied comparative literature and sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb, after which she worked as a journalist for the publications Start, Danas, and NIN. She lived in Zagreb and Stockholm.

Drakulić is considered one of the authors who sparked a broad public discussion about feminism in Yugoslavia. In 1984, she published her first collection of essays, Deadly Sins of Feminism: Essays in Mudology, and in 1987, she published her debut novel, Holograms of Fear.

Throughout her career, Drakulić has contributed to international media outlets, including The New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, La Repubblica, and El Mundo. Her books have been translated into many languages.

Among the author’s best-known works are How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed, They Would Never Hurt a Fly: War Criminals on Trial in The Hague, Café Europa: Life After Communism, The Balkan Express: Fragments from the Other Side of War, Flesh of Her Flesh, As If I Am Not There, Tales from Communism, and Café Europa Revisited: How to Survive Post-Communism.”

In her works, Drakulić also drew on the stories of famous women, including Frida Kahlo and Mileva Marić (Einstein), and explored women’s experiences and social change in Eastern European countries.

Slavenka Drakulić was married to Swedish journalist Richard Swartz. Her daughter, Rujana Jeger, also became a writer.

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