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Day Two of “Hegel to Russia and Back”: Hegel Meets Marx, Lukacs, Soviet Art, and Kojève
On Saturday, April 13, day two of the conference “Hegel to Russia and Back,” sponsored by the Humanities Initiative, CUNY and the Jordan Center, took place at NYU. Again brilliant...
A Soviet Imprimatur on Imperial Smut: Politizdat’s "Luka Mudishchev" as Parody of the Soviet Book
On January 11, 1970, the British émigré newspaper Wiadomości reported on the publication of a new Russian book, a pocket-sized volume that had been a London bestseller during late 1969....
Belarus on a Knife-Edge
Time will tell whether the Minsk protests have reached that magical tipping point.
Egnate Ninoshvili and the Remapping of Georgian Cultural History. A View from the Streets of Post-Soviet Tbilisi
There is something suspiciously inconspicuous about how Ninoshvili’s bust fits into its surroundings, remaining unremarkable in an otherwise hyper-central spot on the main street in Georgia's capital.
Belarusians Can Learn a Lot from Armenia's Velvet Revolution
Unprecedented in Belarus’ modern history, the post-election protests against President Lukashenko are continuing unabated.
Belarus, Russia and the Crimean Issue: The Alliance Without Recognition
Since Russia's annexation of Crimea, Belarus, which shares more than a thousand kilometers of border with Ukraine, has maintained an ambiguous position vis-a-vis Crimea's official status. This ambivalence relates to...
The Belarus Government is Largely Ignoring the Pandemic. Here's Why.
By officially denying the covid-19 danger while benefiting from other countries’ response to the coronavirus — and with Belarusians promoting social distancing despite Lukashenka’s denials — the Belarusian government has...
Belarus and the U.S. Decided to Restore Ties After 11 years of “Frozen” Relations. Here's Why.
For Lukashenka, diversifying the relationship with the West is a continuation of the strategy of fighting for the length of the leash on which he is being held by the...
Event Announcement: Everyday and the Experience of War in Late Modernity
All the Russias is pleased to announce an event held this Friday, November 15, in NYU's Tisch School of the Arts (721 Broadway, 7th Floor) at 6 PM. Part of...
“C’mon, Turn Swan Lake on!”: The Belarusian Protests of 2020 and Memories of the 1990s
In the 2020 Belarusian demonstrations, references to perestroika and the 1990s abounded. In our recently published article, we showed that recalling the civic activism of 1989-1991 allowed a symbolic return to recent political upheavals in the sense of “picking up where we left off.”
Go and See (Turkish Gambit 7-8)
What, exactly, were we hoping to see and why?
The Strength and Flexibility of Maria Kolesnikova
While the possibility for political change has seemed nearly unimaginable under Lukashenko’s long tenure, the penetration of global consumer culture over the past decade has nonetheless helped to shape a...
A Vicious Circle: How Did Russia End Up "Surrounded by Enemies"?
In a years-long attempt to reassert its influence in neighboring post-Soviet countries, and secure its borders from the West, Moscow has consistently been creating enemies along its borders. As of...
Ales Bialiatski: A Moral Choice We Hope Never to Face
Ales Bialiatski’s was one of the strangest Nobel lectures in history. Not only did the laureate not write it himself, he did not deliver it—at the time of the ceremony,...
Parliamentary Daydreams in Belarus: When the Rubber-Stamp Really is Just a Rubber-Stamp
Belarus held parliamentary elections in November 2019, producing one of the most unsurprising electoral results in recent history, even by Belarusian standards.
Russia’s War on the Nonhuman
This is not the time to give in to techno-pessimism, nor over-rely on techno-optimism—though closing the sky is long overdue and those fighter jets are sorely needed! Also needed is...
One Year Ago: Russia's War on the Nonhuman
In April 2022, I reflected on the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine by reimagining it through Lesia Ukraïnka’s fairy-drama "Forest Song." On the verge of the invasion’s one-year...
“Noblemen”: Belarusians fighting for Ukraine
After February 2022, Belarusians played a decisive role in countering the Russian advance on Kyiv. The logic behind their mobilization was simple: “Without a free Ukraine, there won’t be a free Belarus.”
Peremen! I Want Change!
Last August was marked by ongoing mass protests in Belarus targeting the “last European dictator,” Alexander Lukashenko. This article discusses the song that became the soundtrack of these events: “Peremen!”...
Ukraine’s Post-Soviet Legion? Foreign Fighters from the Former Soviet Union in Ukraine
Foreign fighters hailing from the former Soviet Union are more numerous, and better incorporated into Ukraine’s armed forces, than ever before. Their language skills, experience of post-Soviet armed conflicts, and...