I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This

In Cold War-era Leningrad, young artist Yevgeny pursues creative work under KGB scrutiny. After an encounter with an American student named Libby, he falls in love and sees a possibility of leaving the Soviet Union. The threat of conscription to fight in Afghanistan drives him to avoid the military draft by taking a theater-set-design job in Siberia. Punished for draft evasion, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital. This graphic memoir follows his fear and lack of freedom under an authoritarian regime.