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Pavlo Skoropadskyi and Ukrainian National Identity
Skoropadskyi’s struggles have had a long legacy. Arguably, participants in the Orange Revolution, Euromaidan, and other transformative national events have had to confront some of the same thorny issues around...
Sith Lords of the World, Unite! (Russia's Alien Nations)
The very last people who can determine what is universal bout such stories is the Anglo-Saxon audience.
The Philosopher-Dictator: A Review of Geoffrey Roberts' "Stalin’s Library"
Roberts never defends Stalin or his crimes, but he does affirm Stalin’s rationality, arguing that Stalin’s actions can be understood in light of his ideas. His steadfast pursuit of communist...
When Piety Goes Wrong: Russia, Athos, and the imiaslavie Controversy
The imiaslavie, or “Name-Glorifiers,” controversy emerged from ambiguities in Church teachings and believers’ growing desire to pursue piety and personal salvation.
Russia is Attacking Western Liberal Democracies
Russia is engaging in an orchestrated, strategic campaign whose purpose is to erode liberal democracy in Europe and the United States.
Evil Empire: Love It or Leave It (Russia's Alien Nations)
To some Russian audiences, the villains start looking uncomfortably…Russian.
Spring Reading Series: Andrei Egunov-Nikolev's "Beyond Tula," Part I
"Beyond Tula" has a transparently insignificant plot: a young writer from the city comes to visit his engineer friend in the country for a couple of days, and everything ends...
Trade, Trust, and De Facto State Conflicts: Abkhazia’s International Economic Engagement
Abkhazia’s economic interactions with Russia, with Georgia proper, and with the EU demonstrate that the interrelation between trade and trust is more complex than often assumed. Trade does not necessarily...
Teaching Race in Russia Part III: Sartre, Jazz, and the Cossack Dance
Sartre’s essay spends considerable time problematizing the intersection of communism and anti-racist politics, asking, “Can the black man count on a distant white proletariat-- involved in its own struggles?"