‘The Hopak Equation’ by Ukrainian writer Lesha Palkich has the subtitle ‘about a war without war.’ In this parable novel, a southerner, a family man, good-natured, is forced to go to war with the northerners in order to earn money to save his son. But what kind of war is this? ‘The inhabitants of the North and South were one people in ancient times...’ The massacre started by the government is of no use to anyone - people go to it not for the sake of an idea or to protect their loved ones, but under duress or for money. The metaphorical nature and tension of the novel are reminiscent of the Strugatsky brothers' texts and speak of a painful and hopeless choice: the most precious thing you have, or your conscience.