The Sun Will Rise: A Novel

Inspired by true events, The Sun Will Rise by Misha Zelinsky honors those bravely fighting and dying for their freedom in Ukraine.

Oksana Shevchenko remembers life as it once was.

Before the War.

Before the Invaders stripped her freedom away.

Before the Motherland decided to take what wasn’t hers, and call it her own.

As the leader of the local Union, thirty-one-year-old Oksana has met her match in enemy officer Lieutenant General Mikhailovich, who will stop at nothing to win glory for the Motherland—and himself. After he captures the city of Heryvin, the young, ambitious Mikhailovich forces Oksana and her Union comrades to operate the local nuclear power plant for the Motherland’s gain, while sapping its capacity to operate safely. It’s a nightmare for a city still reeling from the disastrous accident that took the lives of dozens—including Oksana’s father—decades before.

Caught between her loyalty to those resisting the Occupation and a nuclear catastrophe threatened by increasingly impossible orders, Oksana must find a way to defeat Mikhailovich before his sadistic determination leads him to doing the unthinkable. But Oksana might not be alone in her fight, because war makes heroes out of the ordinary and unlikely.

A grandmother defiantly waving the colour of her nation.

A principal offering a safe haven for students dreaming of brighter futures.

A young adult choosing courage in the face of mortal danger.

A country quietly showing that glory belongs to those who dare to hold on against impossible odds. Because one day soon, the sun will set on dictators. And the sun will rise on freedom once again.
Inspired by true events in Ukraine, The Sun Will Rise is a tribute to those bravely fighting for their freedom—and ours.

Misha Zelinsky is a leading expert on the rise of global authoritarianism. 

A Fulbright Scholar, economist, lawyer, and author, Misha spent 2022 and 2023 covering Russia’s invasion from inside Ukraine as a war correspondent for The Australian Financial Review. Misha is personally sanctioned by the Putin regime. 

A graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, he is an expert associate at Australia’s National Security College. 

Thanks to his time leading the Australian Workers’ Union—Australia’s oldest blue-collar trade union—Misha has been a senior political figure with a reputation for expertise in supply chain sovereignty, national security, industrial policy, countering foreign interference, trade and energy security. 

As a contributor to MSNBC, BBC, ABC, Misha’s work features in Australian and international print publications including the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph, Foreign Policy Magazine, Times of London, and Financial Times. His 5000-word profile from inside President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown won wide acclaim.