Seeking a Politics of Solidarity in Putin’s Russia

In a Country Where Nothing Changes, a 23-Year-Old Finds Hope Outside the Electoral System

In 2013, when I was 13, one of the oldest comedy TV programs in Russia released a sketch in which a group of musicians performed a version of Queen’s “I Want to Break Free” satirizing the country.

The lyrics went: “The roads in this country are like cars in this country. Like the salaries, the football, the communal services, and, of course, the cinema …” When Freddie Mercury sang “God knows,” it was twisted to sound like the Russian equivalent of “shit.”

As the audience laughed, another actor approached the band to …

On the Campaign Trail With a Russian Antiwar Candidate

Thousands of People Came Out to Support Boris Nadezhdin’s Presidential Run. They Refuse to Lose Hope

In December 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. It had long been clear that he had plans to aim for his fifth …

What We Lose When We ‘Cancel’ Russian | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

What We Lose When We ‘Cancel’ Russian

After the Ukraine Invasion, Enrollment in the Language Hit Historic Lows. But Turning Away Isolates the Entire Post-Soviet World

Feeling decisive one morning during my sophomore year of college, I picked my major: Russian. I had been studying the language and was excited for the opportunity to read literature, …

How Literature Became a Weapon in Russia’s Culture Wars | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How Literature Became a Weapon in Russia’s Culture Wars

It’s a Battle of Tolstoys as Protestors Face off Against Putin’s Propaganda Machine

On April 10, 2022, Moscow police arrested resident Konstantin Goldman for brandishing a book in public. Goldman had posted an image on social media in which he posed holding a …

Ukraine in My Blood and on My Mind

A Foreign Correspondent’s Family Served Russian Imperialism, and Then Was Destroyed By It

This is the second of two essays exploring the intertwined histories of Russia and Ukraine, told through one family’s history. Read the first essay …

The Russian Empire, My Soviet Loyalist Grandfather, and Me

From Catherine the Great to Stalin, My Family Played a Part in Imperial Rule Over Ukraine—Until They Didn’t

This is the first of two essays exploring the intertwined histories of Russia and Ukraine, told through one family’s history. Read the second essay …