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Not Just for Laughs: What Online Memes Tell Us about Russian Public Support for Government Propaganda
What can memes tell us about the attitudes of “ordinary Russians” as presented by meme creators who do not support Putin’s regime?
The Buryat-Mongolian Buddhist Tradition: Legacy, Resilience, and Renaissance
Following the collapse of the Soviet regime, Buddhism in Buryatia entered a new era characterized by efforts to revive the long-repressed tradition.
The Crimean Bridge as a Symbolic and Military Object in Contemporary Russia
The Kremlin has concluded that the Kerch Strait or “Crimean” Bridge requires not only physical fortification, but also media invisibility—an ironic reversal of its intended purpose.
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part III
Did you spend time in Russia or elsewhere in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s? Have you saved an artifact, souvenir, kitschy trinket, book, or memento that embodies the spirit of that time?
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part II
Objects I saved from 1991-93 reflect the advent of widening global travel, including to and from Russia.
A Look Back at the Early 1990s: Moscow Time Capsule, Part I
Svetlana Boym once wrote that “today’s everyday artifact can turn into tomorrow’s counterrevolutionary kitsch.” This project, focused as it is on yesterday’s everyday artifacts, could be considered “counterrevolutionary” relative to the current official narrative of the Russian 1990s.
Announcing: The Fifth Annual Graduate Student Essay Competition
The Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia and The Jordan Center Blog are pleased to announce the fifth annual Graduate Student Essay Competition. Submit via Google form (link below) by Friday, 18 April 2025 at 11:59 PM EST for full consideration.
“And Everything Around is So Non-Russian”: Crimean Tatars Against Late-Soviet Crimea
In the 1960s-1980s, Crimean Tatars managed to organize a grassroots political movement unprecedented in the history of Soviet dissent.
What does Ukraine’s land market law mean for its democratic future?
Until 2021, Ukraine was the only democratic country where it was illegal to sell agricultural land. Its land market law was a triumph of public policy and democratic process.
Intertextual Empire: Rereading Brodsky’s “On the Talks at Kabul” in 2024
After 2022, Joseph Brodsky’s 1992 poems on Ukraine and Afghanistan evoke the reader’s anger, embarrassment, and, perhaps, confusion: why would Brodsky, who famously despised the Soviet Union, lament its collapse?
Can the “Overwhelming Majority” Be Trusted? Public Support and Private Opinion on the Invasion of Ukraine in Russia
Public opinion polls conducted since March 2022 that indicate overwhelming public support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine cannot be taken at face value.
The Kyrgyz Republic’s Military Doctrine: Reflecting the New Geopolitical Insecurities
Despite its massive commitment to re-armament since 2021, Kyrgyzstan continues to insist that it prefers to resolve border conflicts—including with its neighbor, Tajikistan—by diplomatic means.
Death of the (Czech) Author: On Literary Prizes and the Relevance of Writers
Has the Magnesia Litera re-centralized literature in Czech society? No. Currently, no literary prize has that kind of power. But maybe these cultural conditions allow for a new relationship with writing in East Central Europe.
The End of Russia’s Asian Ambitions
Despite Moscow’s best efforts, Russia will likely remain primarily a European power rather than an Asian one.
Arctic Exceptionalism: A Narrative of Cooperation and Conflict from Gorbachev to Medvedev and Putin
Since 2022, the narrative of Arctic exceptionalism has experienced major disruptions.
From Incarceration to Repatriation: German Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union
The legacy of German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union resonates to this day in contemporary Russian politics.
Ethnofederalism and Indigenous Self-Determination in the Russian and Canadian Norths
While promoting the rights of Indigenous minorities, Russia’s Sakha Republic has managed to increase autonomy over land and resources vis-à-vis Moscow.
Female Representation in Documentary Films about the North Caucasus: Kitsch and Approaches to Overcoming It
Contemporary visual art is still searching for ways to express the diversity of culture in the North Caucasus.
My Existential Journey Through the Belarusian Revolution
In 2020, Belarus chose humanity over cynicism. We stood on the brink of something new. And although we were forced into exile, into prisons and graves, the world now knows that Belarusians exist. We exist, and we will return.
Which Russian Music?
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine catalyzed a split in the Russian music scene between those who emigrated and those who remained. A further important fragmentation results from musicians’ differing visions for both Russia and its art.