Along with several other Russian-speaking academics outside of Russia, I have been emailing thousands (yes, thousands!) academics in Russia urging them to take action to oppose the war. My letter to them can be found here (scroll down for an English translation). Most of the emails get no replies, but…

It’s very easy to feel powerless when a country with a population of over 140 million invades its neighbor and threatens the world order. But there are many ways each of us can help Ukraine win, and if we band together, we will be a force to be reckoned with. …

More than 100 days have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. With the modern flurry of information, it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on. To facilitate an understanding of the situation, I wrote a brief explainer (but with lots of links for deeper…

Many of us have read about the atrocities Russian troops inflicted on residents of Bucha, Ukraine, and other occupied areas. Shot civilians, including children, lying in the streets, some with their hands tied. Mass graves. Systematic rape. Many of the photos were too graphic to be published by most outlets…

Someone I know has been on the ground helping displaced Ukrainians almost since the war started. Here is their take on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. I know many people have donor fatigue at this point, but there is no such “need fatigue” among the displaced. If anything, they will…

I am in the process of sharing a call to action written by an anti-war student group in Russia with academics in Russia. Although I am not asking for replies, some decide to write back. The reply below is the most chilling one I’ve gotten since the war started. …

Many people think of pre-war Ukraine and Russia as very similar. Right before the full-scale invasion on February 24, a few people even wondered out loud if it would be so bad to have Ukraine become part of Russia. Ukraine has been called “Little Russia”, including by an Italian TV…

Let’s shed some light on what’s happening in Russia as Putin professes to ‘denazify’ others — Russia’s claim that it invaded Ukraine to “denazify” it has been thoroughly debunked, but what has received much less attention is Russia’s own neo-Nazi “problem.” I put “problem” in quotes because there’s no evidence Kremlin considers neo-Nazis inside Russia a problem. By contrast, Russia has a history of cultivating and…

Spoken by someone that has blocked me from seeing anything about them. Interesting.