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In Putin’s Vision of Ukraine’s Past, A Warning About Russia’s Future
On 12 July 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin published a historical essay titled “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” He frames the essay as a follow-up to a...
Easter in Russia: Between Church and State, a New Divide Has Risen
The enormous variances in how priests chose to observe Easter this year in Russia hints at the broader context that frames the divide between those following church-related COVID restrictions and...
First as Tragedy, then as Kitsch: A Bitter Harvest Review
In the middle of a party, Stalin inexplicably shouts “Damn those Ukrainians!”
Edward Cohn explores “prophylactic policing” in the Soviet Baltics
On April 1, 2015, the NYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia welcomed Edward Cohn for a colloquium on “A Soviet Theory of Broken Windows: Policing and the...
Putin’s Not-so-Modest Proposal
Deeply concerned about anti-Semitism in Europe, Putin issued a formal invitation for Jews who are feeling unsafe in Europe to move to Russia.
For God and Stalin
The Orthodox Church and Stalin are having a moment.
Welcome to Ukrainian 101
Even as our textbook rejects so-called “Russified” grammar structures and vocabulary, it does not offer the word “zhid” as a proper term for "Jew." I think you would be hard...
The Fascism That Wasn’t
The media seemed to be surprised by one election outcome: the failure of Ukraine’s right-wing parties to secure significant votes.
Protocols of the Elders of Ukraine
The flyer played upon the fears that continue to plague Jews around the world: unstable governments will ultimately turn their forces on the Jews, especially countries with long histories of...
Transnistria, Crimea, Russia: There Goes The Neighborhood
None of the former Soviet territories exist in a vacuum and any declaration of independence or separatism will always involve the support or condemnation of more powerful and influential actors.
Diplomatic and Undiplomatic Language, or Just say "Ы"!
Lately, it has not only been the vowels that have been hard to stomach in Russia.