Podcasts about Maidan

Olena Halushka is a is a board member of the Ukrainian NGO “Anti-corruption Action Centre”, and co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory. She has also worked as a chief of international advocacy at the post-Maidan coalition of 80 CSOs “Reanimation Package of Reforms”. Olena is a contributor to the Atlantic Council, Kyiv Independent. She has also written op-eds for the Washington Post, the Foreign Policy, and the EU Observer – but it's a major article she wrote for the UK's Guardian newspaper that we'll be discussing today.----------DESCRIPTION: Understanding Kyiv Protests: An In-Depth Discussion with Anti-Corruption Advocate Olena Halushka Jonathan speaks with Olena Halushka, a board member of the Ukrainian NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center and co-founder of the International Center for Ukrainian Victory. The conversation covers the ongoing protests in Kyiv, the role of Russian aggression, the significance of EU integration for Ukraine, and the internal challenges of anti-corruption and judicial reforms. Elena clarifies the nature of the protests, expressing that they are in favor of Ukraine's EU integration and not against the government. The discussion also delves into the horizontal strength of Ukrainian society, the impact of Western misconceptions, and the broader implications of these reforms on Ukraine's resilience during wartime. Lastly, Olena provides insights into how Western misunderstanding of Ukraine's decentralized but resilient structure and the importance of maintaining justice and anti-corruption measures, even during the war, are crucial for Ukraine's future.----------CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:22 Current Situation in Ukraine02:11 Understanding the Protests04:03 EU Integration and Democratic Reforms05:24 The Role of Civil Society and Media13:48 Russian Occupation and Humanitarian Crisis21:04 Global Implications and Support for Ukraine25:34 Anti-Corruption Reforms and Internal Challenges51:31 Conclusion and Final Thoughts----------LINKS:https://twitter.com/OlenaHalushka https://twitter.com/AntAC_ua https://twitter.com/ICUVua https://www.linkedin.com/in/olena-halushka-b7342259/?originalSubdomain=ua https://ukrainianvictory.org/experts/olena-halushka/ https://www.fpri.org/contributor/olena-halushka/https://cepa.org/author/olena-halushka/https://archive.kyivpost.com/author/olena-halushkahttps://foreignpolicy.com/author/olena-halushka/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Die Ukraine wird gesichert, um Europa zu verlierenEin Standpunkt von Sabiene Jahn.Ein Gespräch wie ein Seismograf. Im Jahr 2023, als Europa noch glaubte, Russland „ruinieren“ zu können, und die Ukraine offiziell als Bollwerk westlicher Werte gefeiert wurde, trafen sich zwei Männer zum Gespräch: Dmitrij Wasilez, ukrainischer Journalist im Exil, und Patrik Baab, deutscher Kriegsreporter unter Verdacht. Sie sprachen über den Maidan, über Oligarchen, NGOs, Geheimdienste, Schuldensysteme und darüber, wie aus einem Land ein Koloniallabor gemacht wird. Wasilez nannte Namen, und gemeinsam zeichneten sie ein Bild, das der Öffentlichkeit kaum je gezeigt wurde. Heute, zwei Jahre später, ist dieses Gespräch prophetischer denn je: Viele Aussagen haben sich bestätigt, und es dient als Schlüssel zum Verständnis der Gegenwart, der zeigt, warum Russland nicht der Aggressor, sondern der Gegenakteur in einem strategischen Langkrieg ist, wie tief die Ukraine bereits vor 2022 unter westlicher Kontrolle stand und warum Deutschland in diesem Krieg eine wirtschaftlich suizidale Rolle spielt – Antworten, die heute dringlicher sind denn je.„In aktueller Zeit die Wahrheit zu sagen gilt als Extremismus.“Mit diesem Satz beginnt Dmitrij Wasilez, ukrainischer Journalist im Exil und bekennender Sozialist, der verhaftet und verbannt wurde, weil er Fragen stellte. Wasilez erzählte, nicht in einer Talkshow oder einem Zeitungsinterview, sondern im Gespräch mit dem deutschen Journalisten Patrik Baab. Ein Gespräch, das zum Zeitdokument wurde, weil es eine Erzählung öffnet, die im westlichen Diskurs so gut wie ausgelöscht wurde: die Geschichte einer unterdrückten Opposition, einer besetzten Republik und eines ausgeweideten Staates. Wasilez sprach als Ukrainer – aber seine Analyse zielte über sein Land hinaus. Es ging um die Methode, mit der Staaten entmündigt werden. Um die Logik von Schulden, Kontrolle, Terror und scheinbarer Freiheit.„Ich hatte Glück, dass ich vor dem 24. Februar die Ukraine schon verlassen hatte“, sagt Wasilez. „Wenn die Lage sich für mich dramatisch entwickelt hätte, dann wäre es so, dass wir nicht miteinander reden könnten. Denn gegen meine Person wurden mehrere Strafverfahren eröffnet.“ Gemeint ist der Beginn der Kampfhandlungen im Februar 2022 – jener Eskalationspunkt, ab dem viele westliche Politiker die Geschichte erst beginnen lassen. Doch Wasilez erzählt von einem Prozess, der lange vorher begann. Mit Parteiverboten, Hausdurchsuchungen und Einschüchterung. Ihre führenden Partei-Leute wurden sofort als Feinde von Selenskyj bezeichnet, sagt er.„Im Prinzip wurden alle sozialistischen Parteien in den letzten Monaten in der Ukraine verboten. Auch unsere, die sozialistische Partei Dirjava. Aber trotzdem hörten wir nicht auf. Wir liessen uns nicht abschrecken. Wir machten weiter. Leider mussten wir unsere Form ändern – das Wichtigste ist die Sicherheit der Mitglieder und Wähler.“Zum Zeitpunkt des Interviews arbeitet die Partei im Untergrund. Wasilez spricht von „halbgeheimen“ Treffen, von einem „Zustand im Keller“, von Aktivisten, die verschwinden oder fliehen müssen. Von einer Gesellschaft, in der man sich nicht einmal in der Küche zu sagen traut, was man denkt. Er nennt das einen „Schockzustand“. Und beschreibt ihn präzise als politischen Mechanismus:„Dieser Schockzustand wird dafür benutzt, möglichst viele Menschen zu mobilisieren und in die Schützengräben zu treiben.“ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Presa europeană își exprimă îngrijorarea legată de proiectul de lege semnat de Zelenski care va restricționa  autonomia agenților anticorupție. Jurnaliștii văd modificările ca pe un atac la adresa democrației și un pas înapoi de la traiectoria europeană. Este un punct fără întoarcere, scrie The Kyiv Independent.  “Președintele Volodymyr Zelensky a semnat pe 22 iulie un proiect de lege care distruge efectiv independența celor două instituții cheie anticorupție din Ucraina, potrivit parlamentarilor din opoziție și organismelor de supraveghere. Aceștia au avertizat că, dacă vor fi adoptate, amendamentele ar împiedica anchetele celor două agenții asupra autorităților sau persoanelor apropiate președintelui.”  Publicația ucraineană precizează și că decizia lui Zelenski de a aproba reforma va schimba cu siguranță imaginea țării în Europa, mai ales în privința aderării la uniune. La Repubblica este de acord că Ucraina tocmai a pus în pericol eforturile sale de până acum de a se apropia de Uniunea Europeană:  „Lupta împotriva corupției endemice care a ținut Ucraina în strânsoare timp de decenii a dus la îmbunătățiri în ultimii ani. Este una dintre condițiile cheie pentru aderarea Kievului la Uniunea Europeană. Așadar, nu este o coincidență că Marta Kos, comisar european pentru extindere, și-a exprimat îngrijorarea cu privire la această contra-reformă, care extinde puterile președintelui și reprezintă un „pas înapoi” față de progresele înregistrate de Kiev în ultimii ani.”  În consecință, Ucraina se aproprie din ce în ce mai mult de Rusia, spune The Spectator:  „Lupta pentru viitorul Ucrainei se dă nu numai pe câmpul de luptă, ci și în cadrul instituțiilor sale democratice. Una dintre aceste bătălii a fost pierdută ... Legea apropie ucrainenii de țara pe care vor să o părăsească cu disperare. Dacă nu va fi respinsă, președintele Zelensky riscă să-i împingă pe oameni înapoi în Piața Independenței pentru o altă revoltă Maidan. Acest moment ar putea fi mai aproape decât crede el.”, se plânge ziarul britanic.  Surprins de reacția provocată, președintele ucrainean a aprobat un alt proiect de lege care ar restabili independența autorităților anti-corupție. Însă răul a fost deja făcut, critică The Guardian.  „Pentru mulți, această criză reprezintă punctul culminant al îngrijorărilor legate de stilul său de guvernare și de comportamentul unora dintre cei din anturajul său. De asemenea, ea are ecouri alarmante ale predecesorilor săi. [...] De asemenea, este îngrijorător faptul că președintele a încercat să discrediteze agențiile anticorupție vorbind despre „legături cu Rusia”. Ce este de facut în continuare? se întreabă publicația britanică.  „El ar trebui să recâștige sprijinul în țară și în străinătate nu numai prin restabilirea independenței anchetatorilor anticorupție, ci și prin luarea în considerare a lecțiilor mai ample despre așteptările justificate ale poporului față de guvernul său.”   Grupaj realizat de Mădălina Șerban

Die Bilder aus Kiew in diesen Tagen wecken Erinnerungen: Tausende Demonstranten auf den Straßen, Transparente gegen Korruption und Rufe nach dem Rücktritt des Präsidenten. Über die Hintergründe der Proteste gibt es verschiedene Lesarten. Während westliche Medien mit dem Finger auf Wolodymyr Selenskyj zeigen und ihm Versagen im Kampf gegen die Korruption vorwerfen, zeigen pro-russische MedienWeiterlesen

Es sind die größten Proteste seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskrieges: Überall in der Ukraine gehen gerade Tausende Menschen auf die Straße. Sie demonstrieren nicht gegen den Aggressor Russland, sondern gegen den eigenen Präsidenten und ein umstrittenes Gesetz. Mit Korrespondentin Rebecca Barth aus dem ARD-Studio in Kiew erzählen wir in dieser Folge, was diese Proteste bedeuten und warum die Menschen auf die Straße gehen, während Soldaten zur gleichen Zeit an der Front gegen russische Truppen kämpfen. 11KM über ein Land im Krieg, in dem jetzt auch der innere Frieden bröckelt. Redaktionsschluss für diese Folge war Donnerstag, 24. Juli um 18 Uhr. Alle Updates aus der Ukraine und Berichte von Rebecca Barth findet ihr hier auf tagesschau.de: https://www.tagesschau.de/thema/ukraine Hier geht's zu unserem Podcast-Tipp „Streitkräfte und Strategien“: https://1.ard.de/Streitkraefte_und_Strategien Diese und viele weitere Folgen von 11KM findet ihr überall da, wo es Podcasts gibt, auch hier in der ARD Audiothek: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/11km-der-tagesschau-podcast/12200383/ An dieser Folge waren beteiligt: Folgenautor: Caspar von Au Mitarbeit: Marc Hoffmann Host: David Krause Produktion: Jacqueline Brzeczek, Konrad Winkler und Alexander Gerhardt Planung: Nicole Dienemann und Hardy Funk Distribution: Kerstin Ammermann Redaktionsleitung: Fumiko Lipp und Lena Gürtler 11KM: der tagesschau-Podcast wird produziert von BR24 und NDR Info. Die redaktionelle Verantwortung für diese Episode liegt beim NDR.

Den zweiten Tag in Folge sind die Menschen in der Ukraine auf die Straße gegangen, um gegen das neue Antikorruptionsgesetz zu protestieren. Sie sehen wichtige Reformen in Gefahr und machen sich Sorgen um einen möglichen EU-Beitritt. │ Spitzen der EU haben sich in Peking mit Vertretern der chinesischen Führung getroffen - sie fordern ein Ende der Unterstützung Russlands. │ Und in Deutschland wächst der Druck auf die Bundesregierung, ihren Ton gegenüber Israel zu verschärfen und auf ein baldiges Ende des Gazakrieges zu drängen.

Es sind die größten Proteste seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs und sie richten sich gegen ein neues Antikorruptionsgesetz – droht ein Rückfall in autokratische Zeiten? Und: Wo steht der Frauenfußball 2025? (17:59) Zerback, Sarah

Am Dienstag hat Selenskyj ein Gesetz durch das Parlament gebracht, das im Westen kritisiert wird und gegen das in vielen ukrainischen Städten umgehend von westlichen NGOs organisierte Proteste begonnen haben. Erleben wir den Beginn eines neuen Maidan?Ein Standpunkt von Thomas Röper.Gestern Abend habe ich über die Hintergründe eines Gesetzes berichtet, das Selenskyj durch das ukrainische Parlament gepeitscht hat. Für die Details lesen Sie zum Verständnis bitte den gestrigen Artikel, denn hier kann ich darauf nur sehr oberflächlich eingehen.Hier geht es nämlich um die Proteste, die in der Ukraine unmittelbar nach der Abstimmung über das Gesetz ausgebrochen sind, denn diese Proteste wurden vom Westen initiiert. Ob das nur eine Warnung an Selenskyj ist, oder ob ein Maidan 2.0 orchestriert wird, um Selenskyj zu stürzen, werden die nächsten Tage zeigen.In diesem Artikel werde ich nur kurz erklären, worum es bei dem Gesetz geht (mehr Details finden Sie wie gesagt im oben verlinkten Artikel), und ausführlich zeigen, wer die Organisatoren der Proteste sind, denn da gibt es einige sehr interessante Details.Worum es bei dem Streit gehtKurz gesagt geht es dabei um folgendes: Nach dem Maidan hat der damalige US-Vizepräsident Joe Biden unter dem Vorwand, die Korruption in der Ukraine bekämpfen zu wollen, das Antikorruptionsbüro der Ukraine (NABU) eingerichtet. Seitdem war für Fälle von Korruption in der Ukraine nicht mehr die Staatsanwaltschaft, sondern das neue Büro zuständig, das von der US-Botschaft in Kiew gelenkt wurde und in der Ukraine zum wohl wichtigsten Hebel der Macht für die US-Regierung wurde, denn das Büro hat in der Ukraine gegen jeden, der die US-Politik gestört hat, Ermittlungen wegen Korruption eröffnet. Darüber habe ich in meinem Buch „Das Ukraine-Kartell“ sehr ausführlich berichtet.In der Ukraine tobt ein Machtkampf, in dessen Zentrum wohl Selenskyj wichtigster Mitarbeiter Andrej Jermak steht, der sowohl der alten als auch der neuen US-Regierung ein Dorn im Auge ist, der in der Ukraine aber als graue Eminenz gilt, die so mächtig ist, dass manche fragen, ob Selenskyj oder Jermak die Macht in der Ukraine hat.Das NABU hat im Zuge des Machtkampfes Korruptionsermittlungen gegen Leute aus Selenskyjs und Jermaks engem Umfeld gestartet, was als Warnung an Selenskyj und Jermak verstanden wurde. Darauf hat der Selenskyjs Präsidialverwaltung direkt unterstellte ukrainische Geheimdienst SBU zurückgeschlagen und Ermittlungen gegen angebliche Antikorruptionsaktivisten eröffnet und ohne richterlichen Beschluss deren Büros und Wohnungen durchsucht.Darüber habe ich letzte Woche berichtet und einen Artikel aus der Financial Times dazu übersetzt. Die Geschichte kommt also keineswegs aus heiterem Himmel, sondern der Machtkampf hat sich über Monate hochgeschaukelt und ist jetzt eskaliert. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Es sind die größten Proteste seit Beginn des russischen Angriffskriegs und sie richten sich gegen ein neues Antikorruptionsgesetz – droht ein Rückfall in autokratische Zeiten? Und: Wo steht der Frauenfußball 2025? (17:59) Zerback, Sarah

Ismail Farooq is joined by Ahad Haider of Inside Football Pakistan go LIVE on YouTube to discuss Pakistan women's team's upcoming AFC Asian Cup Qualifier matches against Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan! ⚡ How will the new diaspora players perform? Does Pakistan have a chance to qualify? Join them to hear their insights and discuss the matches together!

A Personal History of Regime Change, Memory, and the Myth of America the LiberatorI'm against regime change—whether it comes by bombs, drones, NGOs, IMF leverage, or the velvet glove of democracy promotion. I oppose it when it's loud and violent. I oppose it when it's sly and nudged. Be it the softish regime change of Ukraine or the hard ones in Syria (won't work), Libya (yikes), Afghanistan (nope), and Iraq (yikes!), it all feels like one coherent doctrine masquerading as a series of noble mistakes.Remember General Wesley Clark? He said there was a plan to take down seven countries in five years: Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran. It wasn't a theory—it was a blueprint. Not for democracy, but for collapse. A strategy of managed entropy. A doctrine of rubbleization.Let me take a stand. Not a shrug. A belief.Saddam Hussein was the hero of the Iraq War. His sons were monsters, his regime brutal—but Iraq was sovereign. It had schools, water, food, borders, pride. And he held it together. With force? Sure. But what else binds together a British-imposed puzzle of tribes and sects?The West loved Saddam in the ‘80s. He was a darling of the CIA. Then we turned. We shattered his country. Turned it into a sandbox of sectarianism, contractor enrichment, and nation-building cosplay. And we call that a lesson. No—it was a murder.Same with Gaddafi. Libya had free education, clean water, infrastructure, a plan for a pan-African currency. So we blew it up. Laughed when he was dragged through the dirt. The result? Slave markets, chaos, warlords. We still call it liberation.Afghanistan? We armed the mujahideen. They were the good guys then. Then we invaded, stayed for twenty years, and left in the night. The Taliban returned before we even finished packing.Yemen. Syria. Venezuela. Cuba. We starve with sanctions, destabilize, demonize. Obedience, not order. Broken states are easier to manage than proud ones.And yes, we provoked the war in Ukraine. We pushed and prodded until Russia, who made clear Ukraine was a red line, reacted. I believe the 2014 Maidan movement was regime change theater. Ukraine isn't sovereign now—it's a proxy battlefield.But here's where belief becomes memory. I lived in Berlin once. I was 37. A 19-year-old Iranian girl was in my German class. She was luminous—black hair, brown eyes, a brilliant smile. She told me stories of rooftop sunbathing in Tehran, dodging morality police. Gave me her Yahoo email. She made Iran real.Until then, Iran to me was just “Death to America.” But she reminded me: Iran is human. Beautiful, joyous, mischief-filled, proud. The demonization is part of the war. First you make a place evil. Then you make it rubble.The devil you know is often better than the devil you invent. The Middle East doesn't need surgery. It needs distance. These are not fragile people. They endure. They adapt. They remember.Every time we try to liberate a country from itself, we make it worse. Our “liberation” is strategy. Business. Empire in a friendlier font.I'm not hedging. I believe we are often the villain. I believe memory—especially memory of joy, of that girl in Berlin—is the antidote to propaganda.This is the record. And I'm keeping it.

The word “revolution” conjures powerful imagery. But what does it mean today? Do revolutions neatly promote the will of the people, forging radical transformation? Or is it more complicated? Sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko joins us from Freie Universität Berlin to explain his take on “deficient revolutions” as he reflects on the 2014 Euromaidan uprising and recent events in Ukraine – where, he argues, conflict with roots in class has become polarised along “ethnic” lines, with devastating consequences.Ukraine, he shows, is not an anomalous case on the periphery of Europe and the former USSR. Rather, its story is instructive for the study of global processes, including the “crisis of hegemony” – one he describes in terms of the “shellness” of politics, and which is in fact often compounded by contemporary revolutions. “People want their say”, Volodymyr explains. “They can overthrow the governments. But they cannot bring about the change that would represent their interests”.An urgent discussion about decolonisation and discourse, progress, popular mobilisation and imagining alternative futures. With reflection on Soviet-era sci-fi authors, the Strugatsky brothers – and on sociologists' duty to highlight complex, messy realities.Guest: Volodymyr Ishchenko; Hosts: Rosie Hancock, Alexis Hieu Truong; Executive Producer: Alice Bloch; Sound Engineer: David Crackles; Music: Joe Gardner; Artwork: Erin AnikerFind more about Uncommon SenseEpisode ResourcesBy Volodymyr IshchenkoTowards The Abyss: Ukraine from Maidan to WarUkrainian Voices?Class or regional cleavage? The Russian invasion and Ukraine's ‘East/West' divideInsufficiently diverse: The problem of nonviolent leverage and radicalization of Ukraine's Maidan uprising, 2013–2014Why is Ukraine struggling to mobilise its citizens to fight?From the Sociological Review FoundationCommunity, with Kirsteen PatonSecurity, with Daria KrivonosGood warning, Vietnam? Comparing the Russian opposition to Putin with the greatest anti-war movement in the US – Arseniy KumankovFurther resourcesThe Snail On The Slope – novel by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, also reviewed in the TLS by Muireann MaguireUnderstanding Ukraine's Euromaidan Protests – Open Society Foundations“Ethnic Conflict: A Global Perspective” – Stefan WolffRead more about Antonio Gramsci, William H. Sewell and Dylan John Riley.Support our work. Make a one-off or regular donation to help fund future episodes of Uncommon Sense: donorbox.org/uncommon-sense

Valerii Pekar has been an entrepreneur since 1992. He serves as an adjunct professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, the Business School and School of Public Management of Ukrainian Catholic University, Open University of Maidan, and the Ukrainian Academy of Leadership. He is the author of four books and was a member of the National Reforms Council from 2014 to 2016, also advising Ukraine's Ministers of Economic Development and Trade during that time. Valerii is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Decolonization NGO.----------LINKS:https://conference.lvivmediaforum.com/speakers/valerii-pekarhttps://www.liga.net/en/author/valerii-pekarhttps://forumkyiv.org/en/speakers/valerij-pekarLVIV MEDIA FORUM:The NGO Lviv Media Forum strengthens media, institutions, and public figures capable of fostering healthy public dialogue in Ukraine and beyond. Our goal is an effective and democratic society united by healthy communication. The organization was founded in 2013 to bring together media professionals from Ukraine and around the world in Lviv for the annual LMF conference. Over the years, we have grown into an ecosystem of people, organizations, and projects that support the media, develop comprehensive solutions for them, and promote the best media practices in Ukraine and globally. We are moving from supporting and developing media and journalists to a broader strategic focus: empowering communication actors, including media, civil society organizations, government bodies, and more. https://lvivmediaforum.com/enhttps://conference.lvivmediaforum.com/----------Your support is massively appreciated! SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon CurtainNEXT EVENTS - LVIV, KYIV AND ODESA THIS MAY AND JUNE.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------

Angelina Kariakina is a journalist, researcher, and co-founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab in Ukraine. She has worked as a journalist for over 17 years – with print media, TV, and online. Angelina Kariakina is a journalist and media manager. In 2020 she co-founded the Public Interest Journalism Lab. She is currently the general producer of news at Suspilne – a Ukrainian public Broadcaster. In 2011, Kariakina joined the Euronews Kyiv bureau, and she covered Ukrainian political and social affairs, Maidan protests, and Russian aggression and conflict in eastern Ukraine. Later, Kariakina became a special correspondent and anchor at Hromadske TV, and covered trials against Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and the refugee crisis in Hungary. She also co-authored investigations about events at Maidan, for which received a prize for investigative journalism. Then she worked as Hromadske's editor-in-chief from 2017 until 2020.----------LINKS:https://www.thereckoningproject.com/uk/team/angelina-kariakinahttps://visegradinsight.eu/author/angelina-kariakina/https://www.journalismfestival.com/speaker/angelina-kariakinahttps://x.com/li_nonLVIV MEDIA FORUM:https://lvivmediaforum.com/enhttps://conference.lvivmediaforum.com/----------Your support is massively appreciated! SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon CurtainNEXT EVENTS - LVIV, KYIV AND ODESA THIS MAY AND JUNE.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur first live events this year in Lviv and Kyiv were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. We may add more venues to the program, depending on the success of the fundraising campaign. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------PLATFORMS:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqmLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Para No. 2 – Surah Al-Baqarah, Ruku #31 (Ayat 236-242)(0:00) Intro(0:23) Khutba(0:29) Ruku 31 – Lafzi Tarjuma(14:10) Rukhsati Se Pehly Talaq / Meher / Iddat K Ehkam(23:04) Haqq Meher K Ehkam Ki Dhajjiyan(24:42) Namaz Ka Hukam In Ehkam K Darmiyan Main Kiyun?(26:42) Asar Ki Namaz Ki Khas Hifazat Kiyun?(27:52) Maidan-e-Jang Main Namaz Ka Hukam?(29:16) Namaz Khushu Khuzu Wali(30:03) Bv K Liye Wassiyat Wali Aayat Ki Tashreeh(35:14) Summary(37:54) Benefits For Divorcée Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukrainians have resisted Russia's aggression for years. Since the full-scale invasion of their country in 2022, Ukrainian women in particular have taken on important roles on the frontlines, in civil society, and at home. Gražina Bielousova's research examines how Ukrainian leftist feminists advocate for their causes at home and abroad, facing distinct challenges as they attempt to defend their country. The Ukrainian case is also distinct from Latvia and Lithuania, whose organizing takes on different shapes for the same cause. Bielousova joins Ben Gardner-Gill to explain these interactions and discuss the ongoing process of decolonization in Baltic Studies.Transcript Ben Gardner-Gill: Hello, and welcome to Baltic Ways. I'm your co-host, Ben Gardner-Gill. Today we're talking with Gražina Belousova. Gražina is a feminist scholar of race, religion, and gender in post-Soviet Europe. She earned her PhD from Duke University in 2022. Currently, she is a postdoctoral scholar at Vilnius University's Institute of International Relations and Political Science and a researcher at Vytautas Magnus University.Her current research project focuses on leftist feminisms in East Europe in light of Russia's war against Ukraine, which will culminate in her first book, What's Left of Feminism in East Europe.Gražina, welcome to Baltic Ways.Gražina Belousova: Thank you so much for having me, Ben.BGG: So let's kick off by just hearing a little bit more about your background. I know you finished your PhD pretty recently. Could you tell us a little bit more about how you got into academia, sort of your research interests, and what you're working on at the moment?GB: Right. Yes, I just defended my PhD in 2022. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly three years now. In my PhD, I focused on historical matters. My PhD was in religion and cultural anthropology. And one of the things that I found missing when I was trying to theorize the part of the world that I call home and that most of the world calls Eastern Europe—I realized that I was lacking a solid theory that would bridge economics, anthropology, and religious studies.I wanted to understand how religious difference, especially perceived religious difference, played a role in creating the space that we call Eastern Europe today. And that took me to 18th and 19th century travel writings by Western travelers, oftentimes who were on an official mission, to the edges or to the depths of the Russian Empire.So I've read a lot of ambassadors' letters. I've read a lot of dispatches from St. Petersburg and Moscow, trying to understand how Westerners thought about that religious difference and how that thinking structured their understanding of what this place was and why it was different. What I tried to argue is actually that perceived religious difference was at the root of thinking of Eastern Europe as something different.Now, when I chose to embark on that topic, I had to put another topic aside, which was the question of very contemporary matters, the question of leftist political thought and feminism. At that point, it felt to me more pertinent to write the kind of theory that I felt was missing. When I was given the opportunity to pursue a postdoctoral position at Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, I pitched this idea to them.And we very quickly pulled together the application. And the next thing I knew, I was embarking on a project on leftist feminisms in Eastern Europe in light of the war in Ukraine. So, the path was windy, but here I am today, knees and elbows deep, in the project on leftist feminism.BGG: Wonderful. I mean, a windy path is going to be familiar to so many people listening.So, no surprise and no surprise as well that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has really impacted your work and your life as it has for many of us. So tell us a little bit more about that.Over the last three years, we've been watching and seeing the horrors in Ukraine. From your perspective, from your academic work, what are some of the main things that you're looking at?GB: One of the things that I'm particularly interested in is the way that groups that are on the edges of society, on the margins of society, such as leftists, such as feminists, and especially leftist feminists—when the two come together and try to articulate their social and political vision and explain to themselves and to their fellow compatriots and oftentimes foreign donors, in my case, also Western leftist feminists, their relevance, how they're trying to articulate their position.War has a penchant for heightening nationalist tendencies. And this is not some kind of particular Eastern European pathology. War anywhere is going to produce these results. That is normal. People defend themselves and articulate themselves on the basis on which they're being attacked, on the basis on which they're being bombed.So this is what we are seeing in Ukraine. Leftism in Eastern Europe, because of the Soviet past, is often associated with Soviet nostalgia. Feminism, on the other hand, is oftentimes seen as something antithetical to national identity, something that is imported from the West, and something that either has no relevance or can be dangerous, especially when questions of national unity, questions of national defense come about.That is one of the reasons why I embarked on this journey, and this is one of the reasons why Ukraine had to be part of this picture. Because while the other countries that I'm looking at—Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Moldova—experience the threat of invasion, Ukraine is under attack.And one of the things that I'm finding is that Ukrainian leftist feminists are incredibly resourceful and incredibly gifted at articulating their relevance.One of the things that I'm going to say that stems from that understanding of leftist feminism that's erroneous, but that's pervasive, is that Ukrainian leftist feminists do not debate the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state. What is in question is the way things are happening under the conditions of war.The questions of most vulnerable people—so questions of what happens with people with disabilities, questions of what happens to single mothers, questions of what happens to the elderly people who are maybe unable to evacuate, questions of what happens to the working class people—all of these things are at the forefront of their minds. They're trying to be the advocates of their pleas to the larger society, while at the same time trying to articulate Ukraine's right to self-defense to Western leftist feminists.BGG: So they have both this tension, maybe tension is the wrong word, tell me if it isn't, but they have this tension internally where they're trying to advocate for what they see as justice or what is right with a domestic audience who, understandably, may be more frequently focused on what's happening at the front lines.And then there's also this international question, the foreign audience for these Ukrainian leftist feminists, who have a very different perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. And I specifically use that verbiage instead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine because they're going to think about it very differently.So let's split those out a little bit, and I want to start with the domestic. You talked about the advocacy of these leftist feminists for the most marginalized groups in society, for those who are most vulnerable.In your view, where have they been most successful, perhaps? Where have they seen actual progress happen from their advocacy?GB: One of the things that immediately comes to mind, and many of my interlocutors were directly involved with, is the nurses' movement–the unionization and self-organization of the nurses.There is a movement called Be Like Nina, referring to one of the nurses seen as a pioneer of resisting exploitation. And, of course, under the conditions of war, the labor of nurses is incredibly valuable and needed, but not always appropriately compensated. This is what we can call essential labor, especially when we talk about the front lines, where people are wounded.Many of them are wounded very badly on a daily basis. However, there are other things that are happening in the background as well. While a lot of the resources are pulled to the front, there are people who are experiencing regular daily struggles with their health. And the nurses are being stretched very thin.And this was something that was really amazing to me. This was really one of the very few instances where I saw academics who are leftist feminists actually touching the ground with their ideas: where they got involved with helping the nurses organize, but not taking the center stage, where they acted as support, as a resource, but not overtaking the movement, rather creating the conditions under which nurses themselves could articulate what it was that they needed, what their goals were.And that was incredibly impressive to me because healthcare is severely underfunded across the whole region, and to achieve such tangible goals as wage increases and regulations that empower nurses to do their job was truly impressive. With every conversation with a woman—because I specifically talk only to women—I just felt sheer amazement, because this is so contrary to so many imaginations of what civil society, self-organization, or networks are like in Eastern Europe.This is so contrary to what some have called ‘uncivil' society. What is happening is really self-organization and civil society at its best, organized by women who are oftentimes stretched very thin, not just at work, but also at home, women whose husbands are potentially on the front lines.So to me, I really cannot think of anything else that, in terms of real life impact and in terms of transforming people's lives, has been grander (I'm going to go for that word) than this.BGG: That's remarkable, and thank you for bringing that. I had very little idea of this progress and this happening.So you use the term civil society, which I think is quite apt, and Western conceptions of civil society in the region that we call Eastern Europe can be highly misguided. Let's just put it like that. I think back to a webinar that the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS) hosted on Ukrainian civil society, democratization, responses to the war, and we have this comparative Ukrainian and Baltic perspective, where we looked at how Ukrainian civil society was responding.We looked at how Baltic civil society was responding, and you're doing something similar in your research here. You're looking at Latvia and Lithuania as two of the other case studies, in addition to Poland, Moldova, and, of course, Ukraine. One thing that I think we can all observe just from watching the news, let alone being in the countries as well, is that civil society across the region has had this really robust response in the last few years.So could you speak a little bit more to that in the comparative cases outside of Ukraine that you're looking at in your research, especially Latvia and Lithuania?GB: For sure. I think that in order to theorize civil society and the region in general, we need better theory than has been used often to talk about civil society at large.Here, for example, I'm thinking about Emily Channel Justice and her work and the way that she articulates the notion of self-organization. The way that she thinks about Ukraine, especially in the context of Maidan. The way that it left a self-organization, but that can be applied also to any form of civil society, regardless of ideology, is really a network of decentralized, self-organized people's groups.If you were to look for some kind of central organizing pattern, or some kind of centralized way of doing things, most likely you're not going to find it because it's based on personal network, connections, and localized issues. And I think that's definitely something that I'm seeing in Ukraine.One of the things that I'm seeing in Lithuania and Latvia is that it's going to differ slightly because there are going to be more central organizing figures. If we talk about organizing support for Ukraine, one of the things that we're going to see is that people are going to point to nationwide initiatives.Right now in Lithuania, there is an initiative called Radarum, which is a play on words, on radar and on darom, which is a Lithuanian word for let's do it. And it's a nationwide initiative to collect funds to purchase drones and anti-drone equipment for Ukraine. And there are particular faces that we associate with this initiative.National television is running ads for it. So there's a little bit more of a centralized sense to it. But once again, I would say that this is the mainstream way of organizing civil society, which, of course, with Westernization, has taken on some of the patterns that are similar to the West.If we look towards the left, we're going to see very much that it is self-organized, small groups of people who take different initiatives, such as raising funds for medical care, such as raising funds for queer people in Ukraine. So the more mainstream we go, the more patterns that are akin to those that we see in the West we're going to see.That is also going to be true in Latvia. The further left we go, the more organic, grassroots, self-organized cells of people we're going to find who participate in smaller, less visible initiatives. So that's probably the best way that I can explain the difference.BGG: Got it. We see this distinction of centralization and decentralization.One could consider these different types of movements organic in their own ways, but different in different ways. When one thinks of leftist organizing, which has a long and rich history, organic is sort of one of the key words.It's perpetual, and these society-wide initiatives, like what's currently going on in Lithuania, that we've seen across other countries over the last few years, are maybe a little bit less frequent and less common. So there's an important distinction there.So I want to pivot to the international dimension of how the Ukrainian leftist feminists are talking, especially with Western counterparts. And by Western, we mean Western Europe. We mean American and Canadian. We mean Western, as in not Eastern Europe. So could you talk a little bit about the challenges they're facing there?I think I alluded to it earlier. You alluded to it earlier, but could you dive a little bit more into that discourse, that dialogue between the Ukrainians and their counterparts?GB: This is the main point of contention. What does it mean to be leftist? How much does local experience shape being leftist?What is the relationship of the left to the national question? And I think this is where we are seeing the real tension. Underlying this tension, of course, is the question of Russia. Let me try to unpack this. And I'm going to start from the other end than I listed, which is with the question of Russia.Eastern European in general, and Ukrainian in particular, leftist feminists have a very different understanding as to what Russia is in terms of geopolitics than the Western counterparts are going to have. This stems from very different histories. Western leftism—especially the new wave of leftism that arose in the sixties and the seventies—in many ways has redefined itself not just through the questions of class, which I would argue were lost to some extent. They lost their centrality.And they redefined themselves through the anti-colonial, anti-racist struggle. And that struggle was particularly important because after the fall of the formal colonial system, the colonial patterns of economic exploitation, of social exploitation, of brain drain still very much persisted. And naming that and defining themselves against Western neoimperialism or neocolonialism in the Global South was one of the most defining features of the Left, both in the Global South and in the West. Now, Russia at that time had positioned itself as the ally of the colonized countries. And some of it was pure show, and some of it was actual money, resources, and help that were sent, for example, to Angola. And that made a real difference. Whether that was genuine concern for the colonized people or whether that was an ideological tool is a matter of debate.Whatever it was, it had a profound impact on the way that Western leftists relate to Russia. They continue to see Russia out of that tradition, in many ways, as an ally against Western capitalism and imperialism. Their empire, against which they define themselves, continues to be in the West, and oftentimes is seen as centered on the United States.The empire against which we define ourselves in Eastern Europe is Russia, because Russia was the colonizing power in a very real sense in the region. It was our empire that subjugated us. It was the colonial power that engaged in just about every single practice in which any colonial power engages in the region.For us, if we think outside of ourselves, Russia continues to be the colonial power in the way that it relates to Central Asia, in the way that it relates to the indigenous people of Siberia, in the way that it continues to conduct business. So both the left in the West and the left in the East continue to define themselves against the empire, but disagree on who the empire is.The fundamental difference is the question of Russia. Because of the way that Western leftists, and particularly Western leftist feminists, have been taught to see the world, the way that they have been habituated to see the world, they're unable to see Russia as an aggressor. They're unable to change their narrative about how NATO might act.And of course, the criticisms of continued Western abuses of power, especially when they center on the United States—such as Afghanistan or such as Iraq, but also here in the European context, intra-European context, Serbia is another context in which that comes up—are highly debatable questions, but they're seen a certain way. They're understood in a certain way by Western leftists. And because of Russia's criticism of the West, Western leftists see it as a natural ally, or at least as an equally guilty party.BGG: That's a really great explanation. I think the way that you've laid that out makes a lot of sense.It also harkens back to where I want to bring this, which is the debate that has been going on in Baltic studies and other academic fields, especially those focusing on the region, about thinking about Baltic history in particular as a colonial history and thinking about what it means to decolonize Baltic studies as a field, to decolonize our academic thinking. There have been a lot of discussions.I know that we were in the same room at the AABS panel at Yale last year on that fantastic panel about decolonization. Where do you think this leads with regard to your research specifically? There's already this trend in this field. I get the sense that you are an advocate and moving forward in land seeking for the field as a whole to move in that direction.What do you think the next steps are? What paths do you think could be taken? What do people need to be thinking about that they may not already be thinking about?GB: Well, I think for me, the key question when we are talking about Baltic studies and decolonization is what is it that we talk about when we talk about decolonizing Baltic studies or Baltic countries?Because I think sometimes we're talking about four different things. We are talking about the question of colonialism and coloniality. That's one. We are talking about imperialism, Russian imperialism, and Russian imperiality. We are talking about Russification and what it means to de-Russify. And we are also talking about Sovietization and what it means to de-Sovietize.And I would argue that while these four concepts are very much interrelated, they have very different agendas. So, I think it's a question of definitions. How do we define what our agenda is? Which of the four do we have in mind when we talk about decolonizing Baltic countries, Baltic studies, or anything else?And I would say that each of the four has its place and is significant. But the flip side of that, especially if we stay with the question of decolonization, is the question of Western theory, practice, and scholarship as it relates to Baltic studies. Because if we go back to the early questions in the conversation of what is civil society and whether there is a civil society, Baltic countries and the region as a whole are pathologized.Because the concept of what civil society is, or is not, was based on Western understandings and Western practices. And it rendered civil society in the region invisible. In what ways does the production of scholarship and knowledge about the region continue to be based in very unequal power relationships, in such a way that it continues to pathologize the region?And these are very uncomfortable questions, because much like, you know, in the late eighteenth century when the Lithuanian Polish Commonwealth was divided between the three powers, we're facing the same question: Who is our ally? Because we have learned that Russia is definitely not, but the West is also a problematic ally.This is where I think the question of what it means to center the study of the region in the theory, in the practice, in the questions that actually originate from the ground up, are so important. And I'm not ditching all Western scholarship out the window. That would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.But I'm saying, what does it mean to balance? What does it mean to center? What does it mean to change the parameters of the conversation?BGG: Those are some weighty questions. I think they're good questions that the field is, I would say not even starting to engage with, but is engaging with, which is really excellent, but it's a long path.As anyone who is a scholar of decolonization will tell you, it doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen over a decade. It's sort of a continuous process. So, I think that is where we're going to have to leave it, knowing that there is so much more we could have talked about. But, Gražina, thank you so much.This has been a fascinating conversation. Thank you for joining Baltic Ways.GB: Thank you so much for having me, Ben. It's been a privilege.BGG: Thank you for listening to this episode of Baltic Ways, a co-production of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies and the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). A note that the views expressed in this and every Baltic Ways episode do not necessarily reflect those of AABS or FPRI.To ensure you catch the next episode of Baltic Ways, make sure you're subscribed to your podcast feed or wherever you get your shows. Thanks so much, and we'll see you next time. Get full access to FPRI Insights at fpriinsights.substack.com/subscribe

Ukrainians have resisted Russia's aggression for years. Since the full-scale invasion of their country in 2022, Ukrainian women in particular have taken on important roles on the frontlines, in civil society, and at home. Gražina Bielousova's research examines how Ukrainian leftist feminists advocate for their causes at home and abroad, facing distinct sets of challenges as they attempt to defend their country. The Ukrainian case is also distinct in comparison to Latvia and Lithuania, whose organizing takes on different shapes for the same cause. Bielousova joins Ben Gardner-Gill to explain these interactions and discuss the ongoing process of decolonization in Baltic Studies.TranscriptBen Gardner-Gill: Hello, and welcome to Baltic Ways. I'm your co-host, Ben Gardner-Gill. Today we're talking with Gražina Belousova. Gražina is a feminist scholar of race, religion, and gender in post-Soviet Europe. She earned her PhD from Duke University in 2022. Currently, she is a postdoctoral scholar at Vilnius University's Institute of International Relations and Political Science and a researcher at Vytautas Magnus University.Her current research project focuses on leftist feminisms in East Europe in light of Russia's war against Ukraine, which will culminate in her first book, What's Left of Feminism in East Europe.Gražina, welcome to Baltic Ways.Gražina Belousova: Thank you so much for having me, Ben.BGG: So let's kick off by just hearing a little bit more about your background. I know you finished your PhD pretty recently. Could you tell us a little bit more about how you got into academia, sort of your research interests, and what you're working on at the moment?GB: Right. Yes, I just defended my PhD in 2022. It's hard to believe that it's been nearly three years now. In my PhD, I focused on historical matters. My PhD was in religion and cultural anthropology. And one of the things that I found missing when I was trying to theorize the part of the world that I call home and that most of the world calls Eastern Europe—I realized that I was lacking a solid theory that would bridge economics, anthropology, and religious studies.I wanted to understand how religious difference, especially perceived religious difference, played a role in creating the space that we call Eastern Europe today. And that took me to 18th and 19th century travel writings by Western travelers, oftentimes who were on an official mission, to the edges or to the depths of the Russian Empire.So I've read a lot of ambassadors' letters. I've read a lot of dispatches from St. Petersburg and Moscow, trying to understand how Westerners thought about that religious difference and how that thinking structured their understanding of what this place was and why it was different. What I tried to argue is actually that perceived religious difference was at the root of thinking of Eastern Europe as something different.Now, when I chose to embark on that topic, I had to put another topic aside, which was the question of very contemporary matters, the question of leftist political thought and feminism. At that point, it felt to me more pertinent to write the kind of theory that I felt was missing. When I was given the opportunity to pursue a postdoctoral position at Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science, I pitched this idea to them.And we very quickly pulled together the application. And the next thing I knew, I was embarking on a project on leftist feminisms in Eastern Europe in light of the war in Ukraine. So, the path was windy, but here I am today, knees and elbows deep, in the project on leftist feminism.BGG: Wonderful. I mean, a windy path is going to be familiar to so many people listening.So, no surprise and no surprise as well that the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has really impacted your work and your life as it has for many of us. So tell us a little bit more about that.Over the last three years, we've been watching and seeing the horrors in Ukraine. From your perspective, from your academic work, what are some of the main things that you're looking at?GB: One of the things that I'm particularly interested in is the way that groups that are on the edges of society, on the margins of society, such as leftists, such as feminists, and especially leftist feminists—when the two come together and try to articulate their social and political vision and explain to themselves and to their fellow compatriots and oftentimes foreign donors, in my case, also Western leftist feminists, their relevance, how they're trying to articulate their position.War has a penchant for heightening nationalist tendencies. And this is not some kind of particular Eastern European pathology. War anywhere is going to produce these results. That is normal. People defend themselves and articulate themselves on the basis on which they're being attacked, on the basis on which they're being bombed.So this is what we are seeing in Ukraine. Leftism in Eastern Europe, because of the Soviet past, is often associated with Soviet nostalgia. Feminism, on the other hand, is oftentimes seen as something antithetical to national identity, something that is imported from the West, and something that either has no relevance or can be dangerous, especially when questions of national unity, questions of national defense come about.That is one of the reasons why I embarked on this journey, and this is one of the reasons why Ukraine had to be part of this picture. Because while the other countries that I'm looking at—Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Moldova—experience the threat of invasion, Ukraine is under attack.And one of the things that I'm finding is that Ukrainian leftist feminists are incredibly resourceful and incredibly gifted at articulating their relevance.One of the things that I'm going to say that stems from that understanding of leftist feminism that's erroneous, but that's pervasive, is that Ukrainian leftist feminists do not debate the legitimacy of the Ukrainian state. What is in question is the way things are happening under the conditions of war.The questions of most vulnerable people—so questions of what happens with people with disabilities, questions of what happens to single mothers, questions of what happens to the elderly people who are maybe unable to evacuate, questions of what happens to the working class people—all of these things are at the forefront of their minds. They're trying to be the advocates of their pleas to the larger society, while at the same time trying to articulate Ukraine's right to self-defense to Western leftist feminists.BGG: So they have both this tension, maybe tension is the wrong word, tell me if it isn't, but they have this tension internally where they're trying to advocate for what they see as justice or what is right with a domestic audience who, understandably, may be more frequently focused on what's happening at the front lines.And then there's also this international question, the foreign audience for these Ukrainian leftist feminists, who have a very different perspective on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. And I specifically use that verbiage instead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine because they're going to think about it very differently.So let's split those out a little bit, and I want to start with the domestic. You talked about the advocacy of these leftist feminists for the most marginalized groups in society, for those who are most vulnerable.In your view, where have they been most successful, perhaps? Where have they seen actual progress happen from their advocacy?GB: One of the things that immediately comes to mind, and many of my interlocutors were directly involved with, is the nurses' movement–the unionization and self-organization of the nurses.There is a movement called Be Like Nina, referring to one of the nurses seen as a pioneer of resisting exploitation. And, of course, under the conditions of war, the labor of nurses is incredibly valuable and needed, but not always appropriately compensated. This is what we can call essential labor, especially when we talk about the front lines, where people are wounded.Many of them are wounded very badly on a daily basis. However, there are other things that are happening in the background as well. While a lot of the resources are pulled to the front, there are people who are experiencing regular daily struggles with their health. And the nurses are being stretched very thin.And this was something that was really amazing to me. This was really one of the very few instances where I saw academics who are leftist feminists actually touching the ground with their ideas: where they got involved with helping the nurses organize, but not taking the center stage, where they acted as support, as a resource, but not overtaking the movement, rather creating the conditions under which nurses themselves could articulate what it was that they needed, what their goals were.And that was incredibly impressive to me because healthcare is severely underfunded across the whole region, and to achieve such tangible goals as wage increases and regulations that empower nurses to do their job was truly impressive. With every conversation with a woman—because I specifically talk only to women—I just felt sheer amazement, because this is so contrary to so many imaginations of what civil society, self-organization, or networks are like in Eastern Europe.This is so contrary to what some have called ‘uncivil' society. What is happening is really self-organization and civil society at its best, organized by women who are oftentimes stretched very thin, not just at work, but also at home, women whose husbands are potentially on the front lines.So to me, I really cannot think of anything else that, in terms of real life impact and in terms of transforming people's lives, has been grander (I'm going to go for that word) than this.BGG: That's remarkable, and thank you for bringing that. I had very little idea of this progress and this happening.So you use the term civil society, which I think is quite apt, and Western conceptions of civil society in the region that we call Eastern Europe can be highly misguided. Let's just put it like that. I think back to a webinar that the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS) hosted on Ukrainian civil society, democratization, responses to the war, and we have this comparative Ukrainian and Baltic perspective, where we looked at how Ukrainian civil society was responding.We looked at how Baltic civil society was responding, and you're doing something similar in your research here. You're looking at Latvia and Lithuania as two of the other case studies, in addition to Poland, Moldova, and, of course, Ukraine. One thing that I think we can all observe just from watching the news, let alone being in the countries as well, is that civil society across the region has had this really robust response in the last few years.So could you speak a little bit more to that in the comparative cases outside of Ukraine that you're looking at in your research, especially Latvia and Lithuania?GB: For sure. I think that in order to theorize civil society and the region in general, we need better theory than has been used often to talk about civil society at large.Here, for example, I'm thinking about Emily Channel Justice and her work and the way that she articulates the notion of self-organization. The way that she thinks about Ukraine, especially in the context of Maidan. The way that it left a self-organization, but that can be applied also to any form of civil society, regardless of ideology, is really a network of decentralized, self-organized people's groups.If you were to look for some kind of central organizing pattern, or some kind of centralized way of doing things, most likely you're not going to find it because it's based on personal network, connections, and localized issues. And I think that's definitely something that I'm seeing in Ukraine.One of the things that I'm seeing in Lithuania and Latvia is that it's going to differ slightly because there are going to be more central organizing figures. If we talk about organizing support for Ukraine, one of the things that we're going to see is that people are going to point to nationwide initiatives.Right now in Lithuania, there is an initiative called Radarum, which is a play on words, on radar and on darom, which is a Lithuanian word for let's do it. And it's a nationwide initiative to collect funds to purchase drones and anti-drone equipment for Ukraine. And there are particular faces that we associate with this initiative.National television is running ads for it. So there's a little bit more of a centralized sense to it. But once again, I would say that this is the mainstream way of organizing civil society, which, of course, with Westernization, has taken on some of the patterns that are similar to the West.If we look towards the left, we're going to see very much that it is self-organized, small groups of people who take different initiatives, such as raising funds for medical care, such as raising funds for queer people in Ukraine. So the more mainstream we go, the more patterns that are akin to those that we see in the West we're going to see.That is also going to be true in Latvia. The further left we go, the more organic, grassroots, self-organized cells of people we're going to find who participate in smaller, less visible initiatives. So that's probably the best way that I can explain the difference.BGG: Got it. We see this distinction of centralization and decentralization.One could consider these different types of movements organic in their own ways, but different in different ways. When one thinks of leftist organizing, which has a long and rich history, organic is sort of one of the key words.It's perpetual, and these society-wide initiatives, like what's currently going on in Lithuania, that we've seen across other countries over the last few years, are maybe a little bit less frequent and less common. So there's an important distinction there.So I want to pivot to the international dimension of how the Ukrainian leftist feminists are talking, especially with Western counterparts. And by Western, we mean Western Europe. We mean American and Canadian. We mean Western, as in not Eastern Europe. So could you talk a little bit about the challenges they're facing there?I think I alluded to it earlier, and you alluded to it earlier, but could you dive a little bit more into that discourse, that dialogue between the Ukrainians and their counterparts?GB: This is the main point of contention. What does it mean to be leftist? How much does local experience shape being leftist?What is the relationship of the left to the national question? And I think this is where we are seeing the real tension. Underlying this tension, of course, is the question of Russia. Let me try to unpack this. And I'm going to start from the other end than I listed, which is with the question of Russia.Eastern European in general, and Ukrainian in particular, leftist feminists have a very different understanding as to what Russia is in terms of geopolitics than the Western counterparts are going to have. This stems from very different histories. Western leftism—especially the new wave of leftism that arose in the sixties and the seventies—in many ways has redefined itself not just through the questions of class, which I would argue were lost to some extent. They lost their centrality.And they redefined themselves through the anti-colonial, anti-racist struggle. And that struggle was particularly important because after the fall of the formal colonial system, the colonial patterns of economic exploitation, of social exploitation, of brain drain still very much persisted. And naming that and defining themselves against Western neoimperialism or neocolonialism in the Global South was one of the most defining features of the Left, both in the Global South and in the West. Now, Russia at that time had positioned itself as the ally of the colonized countries. And some of it was pure show, and some of it was actual money, resources, and help that were sent, for example, to Angola. And that made a real difference. Whether that was genuine concern for the colonized people or whether that was an ideological tool is a matter of debate.Whatever it was, it had a profound impact on the way that Western leftists relate to Russia. They continue to see Russia out of that tradition, in many ways, as an ally against Western capitalism and imperialism. Their empire, against which they define themselves, continues to be in the West, and oftentimes is seen as centered on the United States.The empire against which we define ourselves in Eastern Europe is Russia, because Russia was the colonizing power in a very real sense in the region. It was our empire that subjugated us. It was the colonial power that engaged in just about every single practice in which any colonial power engages in the region.For us, if we think outside of ourselves, Russia continues to be the colonial power in the way that it relates to Central Asia, in the way that it relates to the indigenous people of Siberia, in the way that it continues to conduct business. So both the left in the West and the left in the East continue to define themselves against the empire, but disagree on who the empire is.The fundamental difference is the question of Russia. Because of the way that Western leftists, and particularly Western leftist feminists, have been taught to see the world, the way that they have been habituated to see the world, they're unable to see Russia as an aggressor. They're unable to change their narrative about how NATO might act.And of course, the criticisms of continued Western abuses of power, especially when they center on the United States—such as Afghanistan or such as Iraq, but also here in the European context, intra-European context, Serbia is another context in which that comes up—are highly debatable questions, but they're seen a certain way. They're understood in a certain way by Western leftists. And because of Russia's criticism of the West, Western leftists see it as a natural ally, or at least as an equally guilty party.BGG: That's a really great explanation. I think the way that you've laid that out makes a lot of sense.It also harkens back to where I want to bring this, which is the debate that has been going on in Baltic studies and other academic fields, especially those focusing on the region, about thinking about Baltic history in particular as a colonial history and thinking about what it means to decolonize Baltic studies as a field, to decolonize our academic thinking. There have been a lot of discussions.I know that we were in the same room at the AABS panel at Yale last year on that fantastic panel about decolonization. Where do you think this leads with regard to your research specifically? There's already this trend in this field. I get the sense that you are an advocate and moving forward in land seeking for the field as a whole to move in that direction.What do you think the next steps are? What paths do you think could be taken? What do people need to be thinking about that they may not already be thinking about?GB: Well, I think for me, the key question when we are talking about Baltic studies and decolonization is what is it that we talk about when we talk about decolonizing Baltic studies or Baltic countries?Because I think sometimes we're talking about four different things. We are talking about the question of colonialism and coloniality. That's one. We are talking about imperialism, Russian imperialism, and Russian imperiality. We are talking about Russification and what it means to de-Russify. And we are also talking about Sovietization and what it means to de-Sovietize.And I would argue that while these four concepts are very much interrelated, they have very different agendas. So, I think it's a question of definitions. How do we define what our agenda is? Which of the four do we have in mind when we talk about decolonizing Baltic countries, Baltic studies, or anything else?And I would say that each of the four has its place and is significant. But the flip side of that, especially if we stay with the question of decolonization, is the question of Western theory, practice, and scholarship as it relates to Baltic studies. Because if we go back to the early questions in the conversation of what is civil society and whether there is a civil society, Baltic countries and the region as a whole are pathologized.Because the concept of what civil society is, or is not, was based on Western understandings and Western practices. And it rendered civil society in the region invisible. In what ways does the production of scholarship and knowledge about the region continue to be based in very unequal power relationships, in such a way that it continues to pathologize the region?And these are very uncomfortable questions, because much like, you know, in the late eighteenth century when the Lithuanian Polish Commonwealth was divided between the three powers, we're facing the same question: Who is our ally? Because we have learned that Russia is definitely not, but the West is also a problematic ally.This is where I think the question of what it means to center the study of the region in the theory, in the practice, in the questions that actually originate from the ground up, rather than are solely important. And I'm not ditching all Western scholarship out the window. That would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.But I'm saying, what does it mean to balance? What does it mean to center? What does it mean to change the parameters of the conversation?BGG: Those are some weighty questions. I think they're good questions that the field is, I would say not even starting to engage with, but is engaging with, which is really excellent, but it's a long path.As anyone who is a scholar of decolonization will tell you, it doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen over a decade. It's sort of a continuous process. So, I think that is where we're going to have to leave it, knowing that there is so much more we could have talked about. But, Gražina, thank you so much.This has been a fascinating conversation. Thank you for joining Baltic Ways.GB: Thank you so much for having me, Ben. It's been a privilege.To ensure you catch the next episode of Baltic Ways, make sure you're subscribed to your podcast feed or wherever you get your shows. Thanks so much, and we'll see you next time.(Image: Facebook | Феміністична майстерня)Baltic Ways is a podcast from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, produced in partnership with the Baltic Initiative at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AABS or FPRI. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fpribalticinitiative.substack.com

Send us a textWhy does the Western narrative on Ukraine feel so one-sided? In this episode of the Open Minds Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Ivan Katchanovski, a Ukrainian-Canadian political scientist whose peer-reviewed research sheds a sobering light on Ukraine's internal divisions, the roots of war, and the media's oversimplified story. We talk about Crimea, Donbas, NATO and the infamous Maidan sniper massacre—an event that reshaped Ukraine and global geopolitics. Dr. Katchanovski's insights challenge widely held beliefs and force us to ask: what do we really know about this war?Inside GenevaInside Geneva is a podcast about global politics, humanitarian issues, & international aidListen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showVisit my NEW Website! https://www.christopherbalkaran.comCheck out my Instagram/Tik Tok for daily posts: Instagram @openmindspodTiktok @openmindspodcast

Der Europäische Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte (ECHR) in Strasbourg nennt in einem aktuellen Urteil das Verhalten der ukrainischen Polizei und Feuerwehr am 2. Mai 2014 in Odessa als eine Ursache für den Tod von 48 Menschen. Sechs Menschen waren bei einer Straßenschlacht zwischen Maidan- und Anti-Maidan-Akivisten umgekommen und 42 Menschen bei einem Feuer in und vorWeiterlesen

In de korte geschiedenis van Zuid-Soedan, dat zich in 2011 losmaakte van Soedan, was het al vijf jaar oorlog. En nu staat de broze vrede in het land opnieuw onder grote druk. Het land kampt met een economische crisis en grote rivaliteit tussen de president en zijn vicepresident. En nu ook buurland Oeganda troepen naar Zuid-Soedan stuurt, groeit de angst voor een nieuwe burgeroorlog. Correspondent Koert Lindijer praat ons bij. (11:19) Van Moskou tot Maidan: making of met Jelle Brandt Corstius In de zesdelige serie Van Moskou tot Maidan verkent journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius Oekraïne tijdens het derde jaar van de oorlog. Wie zijn nu eigenlijk de Oekraïners? Corstius vertelt over het maakproces, maar over ook de dilemma's waar je tegenaan loopt wanneer je als documentairemaker niet neutraal bent in het conflict waar je over bericht. Presentatie: Eva Koreman

                                     REVOLUTION!                           Phase One - Trump/Zelensky                The Black Spy Podcast, Season 19, Episode 0004   The Trump/Zelensky debacle in the Oval Office, showed as clearly, as did the Vietnam or Afghanistan end of US engagement optics did, that the United states has ended its adventure in the Ukraine. However, in addition to just this sign that an incoming President wanted to divest himself of a losing, frankly unwinnable war, President Trump is showing a true revolutionary zeal to change the whole US military, industrial and congressional complex. Now transactional business and not secret intelligence driven covert and overt warfare is no longer the preferred model to retain US world-wide hegemony. At least not with a military pier equivalent nation. Russia's "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, initiated in February 2022, has been framed by the Kremlin as a response to various historical and geopolitical factors. One narrative emphasizes the presence of far-right elements in Ukraine, drawing connections to nationalist groups active during World War II. However, although most western experts reject the portrayal of Ukraine as a neo-Nazi state, noting that while far-right groups exist, they do not hold significant influence in the government or military, they nevertheless have little to say about such far right units killing 14,000 Russian heritaged Ukrainian civilian citizens since 2016. In the early stages of the Cold War, Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA and MI6, reportedly collaborated with former Ukrainian nationalist fighters to undermine Soviet authority. These covert operations aimed to exploit anti-Soviet sentiments. This lasted 10 years and saw the reported death of up to a 100,000 Soviet Citizens. In the end though, it has been stated by the west, that this had limited long-term impact. The 2014 Maidan uprising, which led to the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, is viewed by Russia as a Western-backed coup that shifted Ukraine towards Euro-Atlantic integration. This assertion is backed up by Sigint in which, Victoria Nuland, the officer in charge of Eastern Europe in the US State Department discussing which Ukrainian's leaders should or shouldn't rule the country with the American Ambassador to the Ukraine The recording ends with Nuland saying she'll have president Biden slap the person they chose to lead Ukraine on the back when they take power! NATO's eastward expansion since 1991 has been perceived by Russia as a direct threat to its security interests. Despite assurances in the 1990s about limiting NATO's growth, to not one inch outside of the then East Germany, the alliance has incorporated several Eastern European countries, heightening tensions, as it attempted to incorporate the Ukraine. The Minsk agreements, brokered by Germany and France, aimed to cease hostilities in Eastern Ukraine. Critics argue that, rather than fostering peace, these accords allowed Ukraine to strengthen its military capabilities, which was confirmed by both the German Chancellor Merkel and French President Holland after they left office. This act intensifying conflicts in regions with significant Russian-speaking populations, such as Donbas and Crimea. In summary, President Trump appeared to validate everything that Russia has hitherto stated is its reason for military actions in Ukraine. The Oval Office statements of President Trump and administration seemed to agree with the justification previously articulated by the Kremlin through a complex interplay of historical grievances, security concerns over NATO's expansion, and perceptions of Western interference in Ukraine's political trajectory meaning their is now little dispute between the US' causes for war and Russia's. As Trump continually states, there would have been no war if he were president! As always, please don't be afraid to contact us and put any questions you might have to any of the Black Spy Podcast team concerning this or any other of our fascinating subjects. And, if you want to continue learning whilst being entertained, please don't forget to subscribe to the Black Spy Podcast for free, so you'll never miss another episode. To contact Firgas Esack of the DAPS Agency go to Linked In To contact Dr. Rachel Taylor please use her Substack account. To contact Carlton King by utilising any of the following: To donate - Patreon.com/TheBlackSpyPodcast Email: carltonking2003@gmail.com Facebook: The Black Spy Podcast Facebook: Carlton King Author Twitter@Carlton_King Instagram@carltonkingauthor To read Carlton's Autobiography: “Black Ops – The incredible true story of a (Black) British secret agent” he incredible true story of a (Black) British secret agent”

(01:15) Boze liederen, protest bij de Amerikaanse ambassade en een weerzin tegen producten uit de VS: in Canada laat men van zich horen, sinds het buurland fikse importheffingen instelde. Scheidend premier Justin Trudeau weet die Canadese strijdlust woorden te geven, en ziet zijn partij daardoor stevig in populariteit toenemen. Maar, geeft hij toe, dit gaat een zware tijd worden voor het land. Welke gevolgen zal de handelsoorlog hebben voor beide landen? Daarover Canada-correspondent Tom Bijvoet en senior VS-strateeg bij de Rabobank Philip Marey. (14:53) De treinen rijden op tijd in Oekraïne De Russische invasie van Oekraïne is inmiddels zijn vierde jaar ingegaan, reden voor journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius om eens dieper in te gaan op de vraag: wie zijn dat nu eigenlijk, dé Oekraïners? En kun je eigenlijk wel spreken van dé Oekraïners? In deel 3 van de VPRO-serie Van Moskou tot Maidan ziet hij hoe belangrijk de spoorwegen zijn voor de strijd tegen de Russen. Presentatie: Chris Kijne

The road to the TRUMPIAN revolution (Part 2) The Black Spy Podcast, Season 19, Episode 0003   Russia's "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, initiated in February 2022, has been framed by the Kremlin as a response to various historical and geopolitical factors. One narrative emphasizes the presence of far-right elements in Ukraine, drawing connections to nationalist groups active during World War II. However, although most western experts reject the portrayal of Ukraine as a neo-Nazi state, noting that while far-right groups exist, they do not hold significant influence in the government or military, they nevertheless have little to say about such far right units killing 14,000 Russian heritaged Ukrainian civilian citizens since 2016. In the early stages of the Cold War, Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA and MI6, reportedly collaborated with former Ukrainian nationalist fighters to undermine Soviet authority. These covert operations aimed to exploit anti-Soviet sentiments. This lasted 10 years and saw the reported death of up to a 100,000 Soviet Citizens. In the end though, it has been stated by the west, that this had limited long-term impact. The 2014 Maidan uprising, which led to the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, is viewed by Russia as a Western-backed coup that shifted Ukraine towards Euro-Atlantic integration. This assertion is backed up by Sigint in which, Victoria Nuland, the officer in charge of Eastern Europe in the US State Department discussing which Ukrainian's leaders should or shouldn't rule the country with the American Ambassador to the Ukraine The recording ends with Nuland saying she'll have president Biden slap the person they chose to lead Ukraine on the back when they take power! NATO's eastward expansion since 1991 has been perceived by Russia as a direct threat to its security interests. Despite assurances in the 1990s about limiting NATO's growth, to not one inch outside of the then East Germany, the alliance has incorporated several Eastern European countries, heightening tensions, as it attempted to incorporate the Ukraine. The Minsk agreements, brokered by Germany and France, aimed to cease hostilities in Eastern Ukraine. Critics argue that, rather than fostering peace, these accords allowed Ukraine to strengthen its military capabilities, which was confirmed by both the German Chancellor Merkel and French President Holland after they left office. This act intensifying conflicts in regions with significant Russian-speaking populations, such as Donbas and Crimea. In summary, Russia's military actions in Ukraine are justified by the Kremlin through a complex interplay of historical grievances, security concerns over NATO's expansion, and perceptions of Western interference in Ukraine's political trajectory. However, many of these justifications have been contested by Western leaders, officials and the western mainstream mass media albeit now, President Trump is accepting that all of Russia's grievances are indeed TRUE! As always, please don't be afraid to contact us and put any questions you might have to any of the Black Spy Podcast team concerning this or any other of our fascinating subjects. And, if you want to continue learning whilst being entertained, please don't forget to subscribe to the Black Spy Podcast for free, so you'll never miss another episode. To contact Firgas Esack of the DAPS Agency go to Linked In To contact Dr. Rachel Taylor please use her Substack account. To contact Carlton King by utilising any of the following: To donate - Patreon.com/TheBlackSpyPodcast Email: carltonking2003@gmail.com Facebook: The Black Spy Podcast Facebook: Carlton King Author Twitter@Carlton_King Instagram@carltonkingauthor To read Carlton's Autobiography: “Black Ops – The incredible true story of a (Black) British secret agent”

Na zijn winst bij de verkiezingen heeft hij bepaald niet stilgezeten; Friedrich Merz, leider van de christendemocraten en beoogde nieuwe bondskanselier van Duitsland. Zo bezocht Merz de Franse president Macron, en nam hij alvast een voorschot op het debat over vergaande economische hervormingen waar hij in zijn periode als kanselier niet omheen zal kunnen. Wat voor koers zal hij als leider gaan varen? Daarover te gast correspondent Guy Hoeks. (09:30) Helden en verraders in Oekraïne Deze week ging de Russische invasie in Oekraïne het derde jaar in. Bij die gelegenheid reisde journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius naar het land met één vraag: wie zijn nu eigenlijk de Oekraïners? In het tweede deel van de zesdelige serie Van Moskou tot Maidan bezoekt hij de regio Kherson, een gebied dat al in het eerste jaar van de oorlog werd bevrijd van de Russen. (17:54) Zelensky bereidt zich voor op bezoek aan Trump De Amerikaanse president Trump heeft aangekondigd dat hij op vrijdag de Oekraïense president Zelensky zal ontvangen in het Witte Huis. En als alles volgens plan, zullen de twee leiders tijdens het bezoek een veelbesproken grondstoffendeal ondertekenen. Maar er is onduidelijkheid ontstaan over de voorwaarden, want wat krijgt Oekraïne ervoor terug? Oost-Europa-verslaggever Michiel Driebergen bespreekt de onderhandelingstactiek van de Oekraïense leider. Presentatie: Sophie Derkzen

Er is weer een nieuwe aflevering van Europa Draait Door en daarin hebben we maar liefst twee gasten: Julia Soldatiuk-Westerveld van Instituut Clingendael en VPRO-journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius. Jelle maakte de zesdelige serie Van Moskou tot Maidan waarin hij helemaal in Oekraïne duikt, want het is inmiddels drie jaar geleden dat Rusland de grote invasie begon. Sinds Trump in Washington aan de touwtjes trekt is er ook voor Oekraïne een totaal andere realiteit ontstaan. Trump doet er alles aan om zo snel mogelijk een einde aan de oorlog te maken, ook als dat betekent dat Oekraïne flink moet toegeven. Is Europa bereidt en capabel genoeg om in Oekraïne te blijven steunen? En wie is, als er eenmaal een bestand is bereikt, troepen naar Oekraïne te sturen om die vrede te verdedigen? Daarnaast uitgebreid aandacht voor de Duitse verkiezingen. Op 23 maart 2025 staan wij op het NPO Luister Podcast Festival in TivoliVredenburg Daar staan we in de mooie Herz-zaal - tussen 17 en 18 uur. Ruslandkanner en vriendin van de show Helga Salemon is dan onze gast! Je kunt nog een kaartje kopen. Check hiervoor: podcastfestival.npo.nl (https://podcast.npo.nl/admin/feed/366/feeditem/podcastfestival.npo.nl) Minister Faber over Zelensky: 'Hij is niet democratisch gekozen' (https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/politiek/video/d1c2bd80-1730-4fac-996d-37541bc8934f/minister-faber-over-zelensky-hij-niet) Friedrich Merz examines using outgoing parliament to loosen debt brake (https://www.ft.com/content/33b4fcfd-803f-4b39-9778-6126196736c8) Wary of Trump, Germany's Merz warns it's 'five minutes to midnight for Europe' (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/merzs-conservatives-push-quick-coalition-talks-after-german-election-win-2025-02-24/) Van Moskou tot Maidan (https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/van-moskou-tot-maidan.html) Ukraine agrees minerals deal with US (https://www.ft.com/content/1890d104-1395-4393-a71d-d299aed448e6) Junge Männer rechts, junge Frauen links? (https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/bundestagswahl/bei-wem-die-linke-eine-mehrheit-haette-junge-frauen-waehlen-links-junge-maenner-rechts-110319938.html) A new global gender divide is emerging (https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998) Sonata No. 1 In E Flat, BWV 525: 1. - Johann Sebastian Bach, Simon Preston (https://open.spotify.com/track/1HW5C7J7n1xCWRFrYu4AMI?si=104d0c0c34a84e6e)

The road to the TRUMPIAN revolution (Part 1) The Black Spy Podcast, Season 19, Episode 0002   Russia's "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine, initiated in February 2022, has been framed by the Kremlin as a response to various historical and geopolitical factors. One narrative emphasizes the presence of far-right elements in Ukraine, drawing connections to nationalist groups active during World War II. However, although most western experts reject the portrayal of Ukraine as a neo-Nazi state, noting that while far-right groups exist, they do not hold significant influence in the government or military, they nevertheless have little to say about such far right units killing 14,000 Russian heritaged Ukrainian civilian citizens since 2016. In the early stages of the Cold War, Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA and MI6, reportedly collaborated with former Ukrainian nationalist fighters to undermine Soviet authority. These covert operations aimed to exploit anti-Soviet sentiments. This lasted 10 years and saw the reported death of up to a 100,000 Soviet Citizens. In the end though, it has been stated by the west, that this had limited long-term impact. The 2014 Maidan uprising, which led to the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, is viewed by Russia as a Western-backed coup that shifted Ukraine towards Euro-Atlantic integration. This assertion is backed up by Sigint in which, Victoria Nuland, the officer in charge of Eastern Europe in the US State Department discussing which Ukrainian's leaders should or shouldn't rule the country with the American Ambassador to the Ukraine The recording ends with Nuland saying she'll have president Biden slap the person they chose to lead Ukraine on the back when they take power! NATO's eastward expansion since 1991 has been perceived by Russia as a direct threat to its security interests. Despite assurances in the 1990s about limiting NATO's growth, to not one inch outside of the then East Germany, the alliance has incorporated several Eastern European countries, heightening tensions, as it attempted to incorporate the Ukraine. The Minsk agreements, brokered by Germany and France, aimed to cease hostilities in Eastern Ukraine. Critics argue that, rather than fostering peace, these accords allowed Ukraine to strengthen its military capabilities, which was confirmed by both the German Chancellor Merkel and French President Holland after they left office. This act intensifying conflicts in regions with significant Russian-speaking populations, such as Donbas and Crimea. In summary, Russia's military actions in Ukraine are justified by the Kremlin through a complex interplay of historical grievances, security concerns over NATO's expansion, and perceptions of Western interference in Ukraine's political trajectory. However, many of these justifications have been contested by Western leaders, officials and the western mainstream mass media albeit now, President Trump is accepting that all of Russia's grievances are indeed TRUE! As always, please don't be afraid to contact us and put any questions you might have to any of the Black Spy Podcast team concerning this or any other of our fascinating subjects. And, if you want to continue learning whilst being entertained, please don't forget to subscribe to the Black Spy Podcast for free, so you'll never miss another episode. To contact Firgas Esack of the DAPS Agency go to Linked In To contact Dr. Rachel Taylor please use her Substack account. To contact Carlton King by utilising any of the following: To donate - Patreon.com/TheBlackSpyPodcast Email: carltonking2003@gmail.com Facebook: The Black Spy Podcast Facebook: Carlton King Author Twitter@Carlton_King Instagram@carltonkingauthor To read Carlton's Autobiography: “Black Ops – The incredible true story of a (Black) British secret agent”

Journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius reist in zijn nieuwe serie ‘Van Moskou tot Maidan' door Oekraïne, drie jaar nadat de oorlog begon. Hij woonde vijf jaar in Moskou, waar hij werkte als correspondent voor Trouw en De Standaard. Brandt Corstius maakte eerder verschillende reisseries en schreef diverse boeken.  Presentatie: Nicole Terborg

Given the shameful American sacrifice of Ukraine, there will be few timelier movies than Anna Kryvenko's upcoming “This House is Undamaged”,. It will be an Orwellian documentary examining the Russian destruction of Mariupol, the Ukrainian city devastated by Putin's invasion in 2022. Krivenko, a Fellow at the Artist in Residence program, Institute for Advanced Studies at CEU, explains how Russian authorities are rapidly rebuilding and selling properties there while erasing Ukrainian history and creating the big lie of Mariupol as a historically Russian city. Kryvenko, originally from Kyiv, also discusses the parallels between Putin's and Trump's lies about Ukraine, summarizing their fundamental misrepresentation of the truth as a "carnival of hypocrisy."Here are the five KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with Kryvenko:* The Russians are engaged in a systematic erasure of Mariupol's Ukrainian identity, not just through physical reconstruction but through an aggressive propaganda campaign that claims the city was "always Russian." This reconstruction effort began shortly after the city's destruction in 2022.* Pre-war Mariupol was not characterized by deep Russian-Ukrainian divisions as Russian propaganda claims. According to Kryvenko, language differences weren't a source of conflict before political forces deliberately weaponized them.* The rebuilding of Mariupol has a dark commercial aspect - Russians are selling apartments in reconstructed buildings, sometimes in properties where the original Ukrainian owners were killed, and marketing them as vacation properties while ignoring the city's tragic recent history.* There's a humanitarian crisis unfolding as some Ukrainians are being forced to return to occupied Mariupol because they have nowhere else to live, with Kryvenko citing statistics that around 150,000 people returned to occupied territories by the end of 2024.* The filmmaker is using a unique methodology of gathering evidence through social media content, vlogs, and propaganda materials to document both the physical transformation of the city and the narrative being constructed around it, rather than traditional documentary filming techniques.Transcript of Anna Kryvenko InterviewAndrew Keen: Hello, everybody. As the situation in Ukraine becomes more absurd, it seems as if the lies of Donald Trump and the lies of Vladimir Putin are becoming increasingly similar. Trump has been talking about Zelensky and Ukraine, what is described as a barrage of lies. As CNN reports, Trump falsely called Zelensky a dictator. It's becoming more and more absurd. It's almost as if the whole script was written by some Central European or East Central European absurdist. Meanwhile, the Russians continue to lie as well. There was an interesting piece recently in the Wall Street Journal about Russia wanting to erase Ukraine's future and its past. My guest today, Anna Kryvenko, is a filmmaker. She's the director of an important new movie in the process of being made called "This House Is Undamaged." She's a visual fellow at the Central European University, and she's joining us from Budapest today. Congratulations on "This House is Undamaged." Before we talk specifically about the film, do you agree with my observations that there seems to be an increasingly eerie synergy between the lies coming out of Washington, D.C. and Moscow, between Trump and Putin?Anna Kryvenko: I think the situation is becoming more crazy and absurd. That's a better word to use in this situation. For me, all of this looks like some carnival of hypocrisy. It's unbelievable that someone can use the word "dictator" in comparison with Vladimir Putin or speaking about this 4% of the people who support Zelensky when he says it's only four persons. It looks completely absurd. And this information comes from Moscow, not from actual Ukrainian statistics.Andrew Keen: The phrase you use "carnival of hypocrisy" I think is a good description. I might even use that in the title of this conversation. It's almost as if Trump in particular is parodying himself, but he seems so separated from reality that it seems as if he's actually being serious, at least from my position in California. How does it look from your perspective in Budapest? You're originally from Ukraine, so obviously you have a particular interest in this situation.Anna Kryvenko: I don't even know what to think because it's changing so fast into absurd situations. Every day when I open the news, I'm speaking with people and it looks like some kind of farce. You're expecting that the next day someone will tell you that this is a joke or something, but it's not. It's really hard to believe that this is reality now, but unfortunately it is.Andrew Keen: Kundera wrote his famous novel "The Joke" as a parody of the previous authoritarian regime in Central Europe. Your new movie, "This House is Undamaged" - I know you are an artist in residence at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University - is very much in that vein. Tell us about the project.Anna Kryvenko: We're in work in progress. I was doing research in the archives and internet archives. This documentary film will explore the transformation of Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that was destroyed by the Russian invasion in 2022. I will use only archives and found footage materials from people who are in Mariupol now, or who were in Mariupol at the time of invasion, who were actually trying to film what's going on. Sometimes I'll also use propaganda images from Russia, from Russian authorities. In May 2022, Mariupol, after intense fighting, was almost completely destroyed.Andrew Keen: Tell us the story of Mariupol, this town on the old border of Russia and Ukraine. It's in the southeast of Ukraine.Anna Kryvenko: It's on the shore of the Azov Sea. It's part of Donetsk region. It was always an industrial city, most known for the Azovstal factory. In 2022, after incredible brutality of Russian war against Ukraine, this strategically important city was almost completely destroyed in May 2022 and was occupied by Russian government. About 90% of buildings were destroyed or demolished in some way.Andrew Keen: The Russians have essentially leveled the town, perhaps in the same way as the Israelis have essentially destroyed Gaza.Anna Kryvenko: Exactly. For a lot of people, we have this image of destroyed Mariupol until today. But after these terrible events, the Russians started this big campaign to rebuild the city. Of course, we know it was done just to erase all the scars of war, to erase it from the city's history. They started the reconstruction. Some people who stayed in Mariupol thought they would have new housing since they had no place to live. But business is business - Russian authorities started to sell these apartments to Russian citizens.Andrew Keen: I'm surprised Trump hasn't got involved. Given his real estate background and his cozy relationship with Putin, maybe Trump real estate will start selling real estate in Mariupol.Anna Kryvenko: I was thinking the same thing this last week. It was looking like such an absurd situation with Mariupol. But now we are in this business mode again with Ukraine and all the minerals. It's only the economical part of war they look at.Andrew Keen: He probably would come up with some argument why he really owns Mariupol.Anna Kryvenko: Yes.Andrew Keen: Coming back to the Wall Street Journal piece about Russia wanting to erase Ukraine's future and its past - you're originally from Kyiv. Is it the old East Central European business of destroying history and creating a new narrative that somehow conforms to how you want history to have been made?Anna Kryvenko: I was really shocked at how fast this idea of Russian Mariupol is repeating after two years in Russian media, official and semi-professional blogs, YouTube, and so forth. As a person working with this type of material, watching videos every day to find what I need, I'm listening to these people doing propaganda from Mariupol, saying "we are citizens of the city and it's always been Russian." They're repeating this all the time. Even when I'm hearing this - of course it was always a Ukrainian city, it's completely absurd, it's 100% disinformation. But when you're hearing this repeated in different contexts all the time, you start to think about it.Andrew Keen: It's the same tactics as Trump. If you keep saying something, however absurd it sounds or is, if you keep saying it enough times, some people at least start believing it. You're not a historian or political scientist, but Mariupol is in the part of Ukraine which had a significant population of Russian-speaking people. Some of the people that you're filming and featuring in your movie - are they Russians who have moved into Mariupol from some other part of Russia, or are they people originally from Mariupol who are somehow embracing their new Russian overlords?Anna Kryvenko: The people I'm watching on social media, most of them say they're from Mariupol. But you can find journalistic articles showing they're actually paid by the Russian government. It's paid propaganda and they're repeating the same narrative. It's important that they're always repeating "we were born in Mariupol" and "we want the city to be Russian." But of course, you can see it's from the same propaganda book as 2014 with Crimea. They're repeating the same narrative from Soviet times - they just changed "Soviet Union" to "Russia" and "the West" to "European Union."Andrew Keen: You grew up in Kyiv, so you're familiar with all these current and historical controversies. What's your take on Mariupol before 2020, before it was flattened by the Russians? Was it a town where Russian-speaking and Ukrainian people were neighbors and friends? Were there always deep divisions between the Russian and Ukrainian speaking populations there?Anna Kryvenko: It's hard to explain because you need to dig deeper to explain the Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking parts of Ukraine. But it was never a problem before Yanukovych became prime minister and then president. It was his strategy to create this polarization of Ukraine - that the western part wants to be part of the European Union and the eastern part wants to be part of Russia because of language, and they cannot live together. But it's not true. For me as a person from Kyiv, from the center of the country, with friends from different parts of Ukraine, it was never a problem. I'm from a Russian-speaking family and have many friends from Ukrainian-speaking families. It was never a question. We were in a kind of symbiotic connection. All schools were in Ukrainian, universities in Ukrainian. We were bilingual. It was not a problem to communicate.Some of this division came from Yanukovych's connections to Putin and his propaganda. It was important for them to say "we are Russian-speaking people, and because we are Russian-speaking, we want to be part of Russia." But I have friends from Mariupol, and after 2014, when war in eastern Ukraine started and Mariupol was bombed a few times, it became a really good city to live in. There were many cultural activities. I know friends who were originally from Mariupol, studied in Kyiv in theater or visual art, and went back to Mariupol because it was a good place for their art practice. Ukraine is still a bit centralized, with most activity in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and the big cities, but Mariupol wasn't a city with internal conflict. It's weird that so fast after 2022, people started saying it was always problematic in wanting to be part of Russia. It was never like that.Andrew Keen: It's as if I lived for a year in Bosnia before the civil war, and it was almost as if ethnicity was invented by the nationalist Serbian regime. It seems as if the Putin regime is doing or has done the same thing in the eastern part of Ukraine.Anna Kryvenko: Yes.Andrew Keen: You talk to lots of friends still and you're from Kyiv originally, and obviously your professional life remains focused on the situation. In late February 2025, what's your sense of how Ukrainians are feeling given what Trump is now saying?Anna Kryvenko: I think a lot of people in Ukraine or Ukrainians abroad are feeling lonely, that they don't have support. Again we are in this situation where you have big deals about Ukraine without Ukraine. You feel like nothing, just an empty space on a map with minerals or sea access. We're just sitting there waiting while they're agreeing on deals. That's the negative layer. But it's important for all Ukrainians to be together and speak about the situation. After Trump's words about the 4% support for Zelensky, there were statistics from last year showing 57-55% support for Zelensky. Today, after these few days, new statistics show 65% support.Andrew Keen: Zelensky started his political career as a satirical comedian, and it's as if he's participating in his own comedy - as if he's almost paid Trump to promote him. What about the broader take on the US? Obviously Trump isn't all America, but he was just elected a couple of months ago. Are your Ukrainian friends and associates, as well as many people at the Central European University in Budapest, taking this as a message from America itself, or are people able to separate Trump and America?Anna Kryvenko: This is a hard question because we always know that you have a president or representative figure, but that's not the whole state. I spoke with someone from our university who was in Pennsylvania before the election, and he said all the people were pro-Trump. The logic was really simple - "he's good" and "he will stop this war" - though people sometimes don't even know which war or which country. They're just repeating the same talking points.Andrew Keen: It's sort of Orwellian in the sense that it's just war and it doesn't really matter who's involved - he's just going to stop it.Anna Kryvenko: It reminded me of how everyone was repeating about Lukashenko from Belarus that "he's a good manager" and can manage things, and that's why he's still president - not that he's a dictator killing his opponents. They use this to explain why he's good and people choose him. Now with Trump, they say "he's a good businessman," but we can see how this business works. Today, someone from Trump's administration said Zelensky needs to stop being arrogant because Trump is in a bad mood. In what world are we living where this is used as an argument?Andrew Keen: Coming back to real estate, he probably sees Mariupol as a nice strip on the Black Sea, like Gaza, which he sees as a valuable strip on the Mediterranean for real estate development. I found an interesting piece online about the Russian invasion, "When Buildings Can Talk: The Real Face of Civilian Infrastructure Ruined by Russian Invaders." In a way, your project "This House is Undamaged" is your way of making buildings talk. Is that fair?Anna Kryvenko: I think it's the best description you can use.Andrew Keen: Perhaps you might explain how and why.Anna Kryvenko: This name "This House is Undamaged" might or might not be the final name. For me, it's important because after the first months when it started to be a Russian city, some people were trying to sell apartments just to have some money. The reconstruction started a bit later. They were using video websites like Craigslist. It immediately became Russian, part of Russian territory. People from different Russian regions who saw this opportunity were trying to buy something because prices were so cheap. People needed money to buy a ticket and go to other cities or to relatives. In every advertisement, there was this phrase "this house has no damages" or "this house is undamaged." You had to put it there even if it wasn't true - you could see pictures where one building had a hole, but they were still saying "this house is undamaged."Andrew Keen: It's just again coming back to the carnival of hypocrisy or the carnival of absurd hypocrisy - you see these completely destroyed homes, and then you have the signs from the Russians saying this house is undamaged.Anna Kryvenko: It was also interesting why some people from Russia want to buy apartments in Mariupol, in these reconstructed buildings with weird pro-Russian murals - it's like Stalinism. They don't even know where Mariupol is - they think it's somewhere near Crimea, but it's not the Black Sea, it's the Azov Sea, an industrial region. It's not the best place to live. But they think it will be some kind of resort. They're living somewhere in Russia and think they can buy a cheap apartment and use it as a resort for a few months. This is absurd because the city was completely destroyed. You still have mass graves. Sometimes they're selling apartments where they can't even find the owner because the whole family is dead.On Google Maps, someone made an alternative version where you can see all the buildings that were destroyed, because officially you can't find this information anywhere. People were putting crosses where they knew someone died in a building - entire families. And after this, people are buying their apartments. For me, this is unbearable. You can do research about what you're doing, but people are lazy and don't want to do this work.Andrew Keen: It comes back to the Journal piece about Russia literally erasing not just Ukraine's past but also its future, creating a culture of amnesia. It's chilling on so many levels. But it's the old game - it's happened before in that part of the world and no doubt will happen again. As a filmmaker, what particular kind of political or aesthetic responsibility do you have? People have been writing - I mentioned Kundera, Russian writers, Gogol - satires of this kind of absurd political power for centuries. But as a filmmaker, what kind of responsibility do you have? How does your form help you make this argument of essentially restoring the past, of telling the truth?Anna Kryvenko: A lot of filmmakers in Ukraine, with the start of invasion, just brought cameras and started making films. The first goal wasn't to make a film but to document the crimes. My case is different - not only because my family's in Ukraine and I have many friends there and lived there until my twenties. For the last ten years, since the Maidan events in 2013-2014, I started working with archive and found footage material. This is my methodology. For me, it's not important to go somewhere and document. It's more interesting to use media deconstruction from propaganda sources, maybe from Ukrainian sources also because it's a question of ideology.One of my favorite materials now is people doing vlogs - just with their camera or mobile phone going from Russia to Crimea or back. You only have two ways to go there because airports aren't working, so you go through the Kerch-Crimea bridge. Now because of Mariupol's strategic location, you can go through there, so you have two different roads. People from different Russian cities sometimes film their road and say "what is this, is it destroyed?" This is the average Russian person, and you can hear the propaganda they're repeating or what they're really thinking. For me, it's important to show these different points of view from people who were there or are there now. I don't have the opportunity as a Ukrainian citizen to go there. Through this method, in the near future when I finish this film, we can have testimonies from the inside. We don't need to wait for the war to end because we don't know how or when it ends. It's important to show it to people who maybe don't know anything about what's going on in Mariupol.Andrew Keen: Given the abundance of video on the internet, on platforms like YouTube, how do you distinguish between propaganda and truth yourself in terms of taking some of these segments to make your film? It could be conceivable that some of the more absurd videos are put out by Ukrainians to promote their own positions and undermine the Russians. Have you found that? Is there a propaganda war on YouTube and other platforms between Ukrainian and Russian nationalists? And as a filmmaker who's trying to archive the struggle in an honest way, how do you deal with that?Anna Kryvenko: Of course, there are many people, and Mariupol is the best example because the Russian government is paying people to repeat pro-Russian ideology. Sometimes you can see just an average person from Mariupol going with a camera and shooting something without speaking - this is just documentation. Sometimes you have Russian people there for some days just saying something. And of course, you get different segments of real propaganda from some ministry in Russia with drone material and big music. I'm always trying to question myself: What am I looking at? Who is speaking? On technical aspects, why is this like this? It helps me to be holistic.Of course, I'm from Ukraine, and sometimes this is the most uncomfortable - you can hear actual people from Mariupol saying something you don't want to hear because it's not your point of view on the war. But these are people really from the city giving some kind of realistic point of view on the situation. It's sad, but there were statistics at the end of 2024 that about 150,000 people were returning to occupied territories, not only to Mariupol but all occupied territories. Maybe 40% were coming back to register their property and then returning to Ukrainian territory, but many people are returning to Mariupol because they don't have anywhere to live in Ukraine. It's not hundreds but thousands of people. As Ukrainians, we're not comfortable with this because we're all in different situations. But if something's not comfortable for my point of view, it doesn't mean it's bad or good.Andrew Keen: It's an important project. I know your artist residency at the Central European University is finishing at the end of February. You're going to focus on finishing the movie. When do you think it will be ready and what are your ambitions for the finished movie? Will you put it online, in theaters? What's your ideal?Anna Kryvenko: If everything goes well, we can finish it in a year and a half because it will be a long process of editing and working with rights. We only started working on it six months ago, and it's starting to go faster. Documentary making is a long process because of funding and everything. Even though I don't need to go somewhere physically, it's still a long process with a lot of waiting. First, we're thinking about festivals, maybe a theater release, maybe we'll have some broadcasters because it's an important topic to show to a wider audience. After a year, we'll see.Andrew Keen: If "Buildings Can Talk" is the subtitle of this upcoming movie "This House is Undamaged," it's a really important project about Mariupol. Thank you for being on the show. I'm going to have to get you back when the movie is done because I can't wait to see it.Anna Kryvenko: Thank you so much. Thank you.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Anna Kryvenko (1986, Ukraine) is a video and fine art photography artist based in Prague and Kyiv. She is a Fellow at the Artist in Residence program, Institute for Advanced Studies at Central European University. She graduated from the Centre for Audio-Visual Studies at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU, Prague). Her films and performances were screened at Dok Leipzig, ZagrebDox, Visions du Reel Nyon, Fluidum Festival, Jihlava Documentary Film Festival, etc. With her found-footage film Silently Like a Comet, she won the prize for the Best Experimental Act at FAMUFEST, Prague (CZ), and a few others. Her film Listen to the Horizon won the prize for the Best Czech Experimental Documentary, Jihlava IDFF (CZ). Her first feature documentary film My Unknown Soldier won the Last Stop Trieste 2018 Postproduction Award, Special Mention at Zagreb Dox, the Special Prize of the Jury at IDFF CRONOGRAF, and the Andrej Stankovič Prize. Her newest short film Easier Than You Think won the Jury Award of the Other Vision Competition 2022 (PAF, Czech Republic).Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

In this explosive interview, Max Blumenthal joins Judge Napolitano to dissect the shifting dynamics of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, the provocations leading to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the potential collapse of Zelenskyy's government. Blumenthal also delves into Netanyahu's strategies in Gaza and the hidden forces driving American interventionism.AI - Summary:In a revealing conversation on Judging Freedom, Max Blumenthal discusses the dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump, particularly regarding Ukraine. Blumenthal argues that Trump's recent acknowledgment of the war in Ukraine as one of the most provoked conflicts in modern history marks a significant departure from previous administrations. He traces the roots of the conflict back to the 2014 Maidan coup, which he claims was heavily backed by the U.S., leading to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the ongoing war in Donbas.Blumenthal criticizes the narrative of Ukraine as a victim of Russian aggression, asserting that the U.S. and NATO's actions, including the buildup of military alliances on Russia's border, were deliberate provocations. He highlights how the American public is beginning to see through years of propaganda, recognizing the war as a result of U.S. intervention rather than unprovoked Russian aggression.The discussion also touches on the potential collapse of Zelenskyy's government if U.S. aid is cut off, with Blumenthal predicting internal strife and possible overthrow by nationalist factions. He critiques the Biden administration's sanctions on Russia, arguing they have harmed the U.S. economy more than Russia's, and calls for a reevaluation of America's foreign policy priorities.Shifting to the Middle East, Blumenthal examines Netanyahu's strategies in Gaza, suggesting that Israel's leadership is more interested in maintaining a state of conflict than achieving peace. He reveals disturbing details about the Hannibal Directive, which allegedly led to the deaths of many Israeli civilians during the October 7th attacks, and discusses the political turmoil within Israel as Netanyahu faces corruption allegations.Throughout the interview, Blumenthal emphasizes the need for a fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy, away from interventionism and towards a focus on domestic interests. He calls out the influence of lobby groups and the military-industrial complex, urging the Trump administration to prioritize America's needs over global entanglements.

(0:00) Intro(0:11) Chief Justice of

Julija Mykytenkos Vater verbrannte auf dem Maidan, russische Bomben töteten ihren Mann. Die 29-Jährige kämpft seit zehn Jahren als Kommandeurin einer Drohneneinheit für die Freiheit der Ukraine. Die Autorin Lara Marlowe hat die Soldatin porträtiert. Marlowe, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Julija Mykytenkos Vater verbrannte auf dem Maidan, russische Bomben töteten ihren Mann. Die 29-Jährige kämpft seit zehn Jahren als Kommandeurin einer Drohneneinheit für die Freiheit der Ukraine. Die Autorin Lara Marlowe hat die Soldatin porträtiert. Marlowe, Lara www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Lesart

Timothy Snyder came to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, to present his book "On Freedom". We have had several conversations about the ideas of this book before (in Kyiv and Kharkiv), and you can find links to the podcast episodes featuring these discussions in the description. However, this was the first time we talked about this book after its publication. We recorded this conversation on February 9, 2025, at the Sense bookstore on Khreshchatyk Street, in the heart of the Ukrainian capital, very close to Maidan. Several hundred people attended, with many staying despite the lack of available seats. Most of them were young. This demonstrates how important reading and critical thinking are for Ukrainians today. Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko – Ukrainian philosopher, the chief editor of UkraineWorld, and the president of PEN Ukraine. The Ukrainian translation of this book was done by Choven Publishing House (translator: Halyna Herasym), with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. UkraineWorld (ukraineworld.org) is a multilingual media about Ukraine produced by Internews Ukraine, one of the country's largest media NGOs. Listen on various platforms: li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/ukraineworld – we offer exclusive content for our patrons. You can also support our volunteer trips to the front lines via PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com. Other conversations with Timothy Snyder: Kyiv, September 2022 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHksNrj7elQ&t=10s https://soundcloud.com/user-579586558/ep-144 Kyiv, September 2023 www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LkXsW14qJQ&t=724s https://soundcloud.com/user-579586558/ep-258 Kharkiv, September 2024 www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR0bqQy5gzA&t=9s https://soundcloud.com/user-579586558/snyder-kharkiv -- Contents: 01:54 - «I feel in Ukraine better than in most other places» 02:44 - being a historian who wrote a philosophy book 07:17 - What can the Ukrainian experience tell other nations about freedom? 12:45 - positive freedom (freedom-to) vs negative freedom (freedom-from). «Freedom isn't just the absence of evil, but the presence of good» 15:44 - thinking about positive and negative freedom in America and Ukraine 20:30 - freedom and values 24:55 - freedom and sovereignty 32:47 - freedom and unpredictability 41:13 - the metaphor of the bell 45:07 - freedom during military occupation and de-occupation 50:30 - is history repeating itself? 1:00:00 - on social networks 1:11:50 - which values can unite Ukrainians during the war? 01:14:50 - rethinking Ukrainian history from the global perspective

The bureaucratic deep state is toppling. In this episode, I talk about the corruption within the U.S. government, particularly through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and how Elon Musk and President Trump are working to expose and dismantle it signaling the potential collapse of corrupt government agencies.  -- Head to http://twc.health/turley and use code TURLEY to get 15% off plus Free Shipping. *The content presented by sponsors may contain affiliate links. When you click and shop the links, Turley Talks may receive a small commission.*   Register For The Golden Age Summit By Clicking Here! https://fight.turleytalks.com/golden-age-summit   Highlights: “USAID literally spits out money 24/7. Case in point, even though President Trump has ordered a freeze on all monies coming out of USAID, officials there still approved over $6 million dollars in contracts just this past Friday, much of this under the guise of miscellaneous expenditures.” “USAID has been at the forefront of carrying out CIA operations like the Maidan revolution in Kiev back in 2014 when the US government overthrew a democratically elected but relatively pro-Russian government in Ukraine and thus began the series of events that led to this horrific war.” Timestamps: [01:02 Elon Musk putting USAID into the wood chipper [02:21] How USAID is used for money laundering and covert operations [08:54] USAID as a front for CIA operations [11:52] Elon Musk and President Trump putting an end to corrupt government agencies -- Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode.  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and/or leave a review. FOLLOW me on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/DrTurleyTalks Sign up for the 'New Conservative Age Rising' Email Alerts to get lots of articles on conservative trends: https://turleytalks.com/subscribe-to-our-newsletter **The use of any copyrighted material in this podcast is done so for educational and informational purposes only including parody, commentary, and criticism. See Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, 276 F.Supp.3d 34 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); Equals Three, LLC v. Jukin Media, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 3d 1094 (C.D. Cal. 2015). It is believed that this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

https://thecommunists.org/2024/12/14/news/provocations-and-rent-a-crowds-as-imperialists-try-maidan-2-0-in-georgia/

On this episode of Reaganism, Reagan Institute Policy Director Rachel Hoff is joined by Oleksandra Matviichuk who is the head of the Center for Civil Liberties. They discuss Oleksandra's decades-long commitment to defending human rights in Ukraine, the Maidan uprising, the ongoing war with Russia, the documentation of war crimes, and the importance of international support for Ukraine. Matviichuk emphasizes the need for justice and accountability for war crimes and the role of ordinary citizens in supporting democracy and human rights.

Dimitri and Khalid are joined by Peter, author of the excellent Events in Ukraine Substack (https://eventsinukraine.substack.com), for a wide-ranging conversation about the cultural, military, economic, and deep political dimensions of the Russia-Ukraine war as it faces its three-year anniversary. Topics include: Escaping Kiev after the war started, why bomb shelters don't matter, the epidemic of “State Department Leftoids”, how the post-Maidan government drove Ukraine's military-industrial complex into the dirt, Bill 3739 and the role of the Sorosites, what “liberalism” represents in post-Soviet countries (self-hating Europhilia), Aaron Moulton's work on Soros in Eastern Europe, 133 Western NGOs exempt from military service, the susness of pro-western “anti-corruption” activists, the Soros International Renaissance Foundation, Sternenko's “LGBT Nazi” gangs vs. the unwoke Nazis, gripes from the Tales of the Fourth Reich Telegram channel run by a former ANTIFA-turned-PROFA soldier, and why the Azovites have become more open to ending the war than “jihadist” Zelensky's clique… Business shakedowns via the “Trading With The Enemy Act”, the overarching role of media psyops in Ukrainian war strategy, organizational chaos in the army, pre-war ketamine hipsters DJing on a swastika laptop, why Azov is where the cool kids go, ubiquitous meth/LSD Telegram channels, Nazi units smoking DMT in Donbass, international techno superstar DJ Nastia and her NED-trained ex-husband, the coked up Zelensky advisor/pardigmatic Sorosite Serhiy Leshchenko, Nastia's sus campaign to get Russian techno figurehead Nina Kraviz blacklisted from EU venues and festivals in 2022, and why everyone in late 2024 dreams of leaving Ukraine. Part one of two. Read “Monday Meth Comedown”: https://eventsinukraine.substack.com/p/monday-meth-comedown Subscribe to Peter's Events in Ukraine Substack here: https://eventsinukraine.substack.com For access to premium SJ episodes, upcoming installments of DEMON FORCES, and the Grotto of Truth Discord, become a subscriber at patreon.com/subliminaljihad.

(0:00) Intro(0:55) Nabi ﷺ ny apni tareef mn konse ghulu (exaggeration) se mana farmaya?(2:26) Londi ko aazad kr k nikah krny ki takeed kiyoon?(3:51) Nikah ki tension se aazad ho kr deen ki khidmat krna?(5:42) Mufti sb ka sawal talib ilmon se?(6:15) Nabi ﷺ ka farman(6:30) Without marriage depressed society(8:12) Taraqqi pr fakhar krny wali aurton ki azziyat nak zindagi(9:25) Zani society?(10:09) Indian showbiz women's miserable life(10:33) Educated depressed women?(11:49) Esaiyon ko Islam qabool krny pr dohra ajar(12:37) Maidan e Hashar mn insan ki halat?Fiqh, Historical Context, and Sectarian Issues(13:41) Ghamdi pr hujjat hadisain(14:04) Andhay muqallid ka ta'ana dainy waly?(14:51) Hazrat Esa as ka nazool, saleeb torrna aur khinzir ka qatal(16:00) Hadis: Hazrat Esa as nazil hony k baad jang khatam kr dain gy (3448)(16:16) Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiyani k fatway pr ehl e sunnat ka jawab(17:31) Hazrat Esa as ka jihad: Talwar ya Islam (Esa as jiziya ko khatam kraingy)(17:45) Hazrat Ammar Bin Yasir ra ko baghi jamaat qatal kraigi jo aag ki taraf dawat de rahi hogi. Wazahat(18:42) Hazrat Muaviya ra ka maqam(19:36) Hazrat Muaviya ra se bughaz rakhnay waly(21:20) Hazrat Muaviya ra ki ijtehadi ghalti(25:08) Hazrat Ayesha ra pr rafziyon ki tohmat ka jawab(29:08) Bughaz e Muaviya ra(29:34) Hazrat Usman ra k qatal pr Hazrat Ali ra aur Hazrat Muaviya ra ka masla? Ehl e Sunnat ka moaqif(32:46) Ita'at e Ameer pr Sahaba ra ki teesri jamaat(33:50) Extremism in this matter?Practical Fiqh and Worship(34:28) Namaz mn taqaza k ehkam?(40:30) Najas jagah pr chlny se wazu ka hukam?(48:06) Tayammum k 02 eham msaail(52:54) Tayammum k ehkam, Hazrat Ayesha ra ka haar gum hony k waqia se(54:12) Hazrat Ammar Bin Yasir ra ko Nabi ﷺ ki hidayat(56:14) Tayammum mn wazu k aazaa aur ehtiyat Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tinatin Japaridze specializes in the geopolitics and security of Eurasia, with a particular focus on the Russia-Ukraine war. She leads Eurasia Group's coverage of Georgia and Azerbaijan, including the countries' domestic and foreign policies, reforms, and leadership. Prior to joining Eurasia Group, Tinatin spent more than 15 years working at the intersection of communications and security. For several years, Tinatin was the UN Bureau Chief for Eastern European media outlets, a UN Radio host, and the producer of her own radio show on current affairs and international security. She is a regular media contributor to The Moscow Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, among other outlets. Her book “Stalin's Millennials: Nostalgia, Trauma, and Nationalism” was published in 2022. ---------- LINKS: https://x.com/TinatinTweets https://www.linkedin.com/in/tinatinjaparidze/ https://uc.web.ox.ac.uk/people/tinatin-japaridze https://www.thecriticalmass.com/tinatin-japaridze ---------- BOOKS: Stalin's Millennials: Nostalgia, Trauma, and Nationalism (2022) ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain/collections ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- ARTICLES: https://www.gzeromedia.com/news/watching/georgias-parliament-advances-divisive-foreign-agents-bill https://eurasianet.org/perspectives-russia-is-going-to-wake-up-to-a-very-difficult-reality https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/navalny-kremlin-critics-deaths-1.7117854 ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In the second of our 2 sessions with Scott, we get into some of the sources cited in his powerful book "Provoked," and whether they are biased by an extreme worldview. We also argue about Candace Owens and whether her views ought to make her beyond the pale as an accepted member of a political clique (Noam says yes, Scott says no). Also, was Maidan a coup, an organic movement, or a bit of both? Part 1 will be uploaded shortly. Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/hFaTYPm Some links: https://peakprosperity.com/dave-collum-year-in-review-2021-rise-of-global-authoritarianism/ https://www.jasonhartman.com/2182-trump-assassination-attempt-inside-job-or-incompetence-conspiracy-or-coincidence/ https://news.grabien.com/wire-dave-collum-goes-deep-conspiracy-theories-911-epstein-pizzag https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/third-911-hijacker-may-have-been-cia-recruit https://quoththeraven.podbean.com/e/quoth-the-raven-131-dave-collum-the-conspiracy-theory-episode/

In the first of our 2 sessions with Scott, we get into his powerful book "Provoked," and whether or not the United States is the main villain in the Ukraine War. Was the Maidan a coup, an organic movement, or a bit of both? What was the Nuland phone call all about? Where do the Kissingers and the Tucker Carlsons diverge? Part II is here: https://youtu.be/hdeMqJDWOm4 Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/hFaTYPm

In the first of our 2 sessions with Scott, we get into his powerful book "Provoked," and whether or not the United States is the main villain in the Ukraine War. Was the Maidan a coup, an organic movement, or a bit of both? What was the Nuland phone call all about? Where do the Kissingers and the Tucker Carlsons diverge? Part II is here: https://youtu.be/hdeMqJDWOm4 Provoked: How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine Available on Amazon: https://a.co/d/hFaTYPm

Conversations on GroongTopics:The Maidan Massacre: Key findings from Ivan Katchanovski's research and its implicationsThe Ukraine War: How the Maidan events set the stage for the ongoing conflict.Conflicting Narratives: Dissecting media, government, and eyewitness accounts of the massacreForeign Involvement: The roles of Russia, the West, and other actors in Ukraine's political crisisLessons for Georgia and Armenia: What Ukraine's experience teaches about geopolitics in the South CaucasusGuest: Ivan KatchanovskiBOOK: The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: The Mass Killing that Changed the WorldSupport Prof. Katchanovki's work here:  via GoFundMe https://gofund.me/52b68e07  via PayPal (account: ikatchan@uottawa.ca) VIDEO: https://youtu.be/o0bCbTYTFNYHosts:Hovik ManucharyanAsbed BedrossianEpisode 393 | Recorded: December 7, 2024https://podcasts.groong.org/393VIDEO VERSION: https://youtu.be/o0bCbTYTFNY#UkraineWar #MaidanMassacre #IvanKatchanovski #Geopolitics #UkraineCrisis #EasternEurope #Armenia #PoliticalViolence #EuroMaidan #SouthCaucasusSubscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Biden's pardon bombshell for Hunter explodes, exposing shocking Ukraine connections.Join Jeremy Ryan Slate and Dr. Mark Young for a deep dive into this unprecedented move. We critically examine the pardon's timing, its potential links to the 2014 Maidan coup, and what it means for America's future. This insightful episode offers a unique perspective on the Biden administration's actions and their far-reaching consequences.Dr. Young, a psychology expert and host of Blunt Force Truth, shares his professional analysis of Biden's decision-making and its implications for justice. We explore the potential domino effect on other investigations and what it could mean for the 2024 election.This must-watch conversation goes beyond mainstream narratives, offering a critical examination of power, corruption, and the state of American democracy.Join the conversation and gain insights that challenge your understanding of current events.Don't miss out on this eye-opening discussion. Like, comment, and subscribe to stay informed and be part of our community dedicated to uncovering the truth. Follow Jeremy Ryan Slate, CEO of Command Your Brand, for more hard-hitting interviews and expert analysis on today's most pressing issues.#joebiden #bidenpardonsson #joebidenpardon #bidenpardonnews #joebidenpardonshunter #news #joebiden #ukrainenews #latestnews #bidenpardonnewsCHAPTERS:00:00 - Intro01:03 - Mark Young's Background07:31 - Biden's Hunter Pardon Explained12:22 - Timing of the Pardon17:01 - Implications of the Pardon20:48 - Joe Biden's Health Update23:17 - Significance of the Pardon26:38 - Will Trump Investigate Biden?30:26 - Trump's Plans for 2nd Term35:10 - Trump's Cabinet Selections40:00 - Understanding the Tax System45:00 - Left vs Right Reactions50:00 - Jealousy vs Envy Explained52:40 - Sources of Innovation53:44 - Connecting with Mark Young54:30 - Like, Comment, and Subscribe___________________________________________________________________________⇩ SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS ⇩THE WELLNESS COMPANY: Health without the propaganda, emergency medical kits before you need it. Get 15% off now by using our link: https://twc.health/jrsCOMMAND YOUR BRAND: Legacy Media is dying, we fight for the free speech of our clients by placing them on top-rated podcasts as guests. We also have the go-to podcast production team. We are your premier podcast agency. Book a call with our team https://www.commandyourbrand.com/book-a-call MY PILLOW: By FAR one of my favorite products I own for the best night's sleep in the world, unless my four year old jumps on my, the My Pillow. Get up to 66% off select products, including the My Pillow Classic or the new My Pillow 2.0, go to https://www.mypillow.com/cyol or use PROMO CODE: CYOL________________________________________________________________⇩ GET MY BEST SELLING BOOK ⇩Unremarkable to Extraordinary: Ignite Your Passion to Go From Passive Observer to Creator of Your Own Lifehttps://getextraordinarybook.com/________________________________________________________________DOWNLOAD AUDIO PODCAST & GIVE A 5 STAR RATING!:APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-create-your-own-life-show/id1059619918SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/5UFFtmJqBUJHTU6iFch3QU(also available Google Podcasts & wherever else podcasts are streamed_________________________________________________________________⇩ SOCIAL MEDIA ⇩➤ X: https://twitter.com/jeremyryanslate➤ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/jeremyryanslate➤ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/jeremyryanslate_________________________________________________________________➤ CONTACT: JEREMY@COMMANDYOURBRAND.COM

durée : 00:03:24 - Le monde à 18h50 - par : Franck MATHEVON - Voilà une semaine que la Géorgie est le théâtre de manifestations quotidiennes. Le pays se prépare à une septième nuit de mobilisation. Le parallèle avec la révolte de Maidan en Ukraine est presque une évidence, mais il est difficile de prédire l'avenir du mouvement.

Manche aktuelle Berichte über die Proteste in Georgien und der Tonfall mancher großer Medien hierzulande wirken wie eine Zeitmaschine, die einen ins Jahr 2014 versetzt – in die Zeit der Jubelberichte über die militanten Proteste auf dem Maidan in Kiew. Hier soll beispielhaft ein Bericht der Tagesschau betrachtet werden. Ein Kommentar von Tobias Riegel. DieserWeiterlesen

As the war in Ukraine grinds into yet another brutal winter, narratives are shifting in Western capitals regarding the nature of the conflict, its goals, and the longer term meaning of the war in terms of the balance of power on the European continent. Looking back to the war's origins, it is important not only to examine the build-up of Russia's aggression against the sovereignty of its neighboring states, but also the decades of miscalculations and lost opportunities specifically by the United States during the post-Cold War period. This is the central focus of the new book published by Jonathan Haslam, Professor Emeritus of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and one of the UK's most distinguished and respected experts on the former Soviet Union. In his latest book, "Hubris: The American Origins of Russia's War against Ukraine," Haslam observes that a gross and systemic lack of understanding by Western allies concerning Russia's intentions and likely actions is ultimately to blame for the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. In this discussion with Robert Amsterdam about the history of NATO expansion and covert US activity within Ukraine, Haslam argues that even up to the Maidan crisis of 2014, the US could have backed away and avoided the negative outcome which will be dealing with for generations.

It's great to be back with everyone on the Tiger Bloc Podcast! On this episode, John Chinaman interviews Ukrainian antifascist and anti-authoritarian Dmytro Mrachnik. Dmytro has been fighting in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. Please bear with us on the sound quality. With power and internet failures in Ukraine, this podcast had to be a recorded phone call. Dmytro takes us back to 2014 and the Maidan Revolution, when he was hanging in the Kyiv punk rock scene. Dmytro gives us his perspective as a dual Russian and Ukrainian speaker and dispels myths about supposed discrimination against Russian speakers. Dmytro describes how the left reacted to the Maidan and Russian invasion in 2014, and what changed in 2022 with an increased left wing response and militancy. As is depressingly common, Dmytro also relates the lack of an international left-wing response to assist the Ukrainian left, even two years after the full-scale invasion.  Dmytro also talks a bit about what army life is like. Dmytro fought in both the Kharkiv and Bakhmut fronts. Since joining the military, he's actually risen in the ranks to first lieutenant. Listen to the podcast to learn about the experience of an antifascist in the military. Dmytro is a prolific writer about politics and Ukrainian culture. You can find his writings on nihilist.li and Anarchist Library. Find Dima on Instagram at @mrachnik, on Twitter at @dmrachnik, or email at dmrachnik@gmail.com. For more writings on Nihilist, check out the editor Romeo Kokriatski on Twitter at @VagrantJourno. Music: Outbreak of Evil by Sodom

The approach to supporting Ukraine which Western leaders have been taking so far has been „as long as it takes“. The lack of a clearly defined end goal impacted the pace and scale of the assistance, as well as raised questions on its efficiency. It cannot last this way in the protracted war as Ukraine's mobilisation potential and resources are shorter than Russia's. Instead, a clear commitment of the West to aid Ukraine with „whatever it takes for a fast victory“ is the only way to return sustainable peace back to Europe. ---------- ABOUT: Olena Halushka is a is a board member of the Ukrainian NGO “Anti-corruption Action Centre”, and co-founder of the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory. She has also worked as a chief of international advocacy at the post-Maidan coalition of 80 CSOs “Reanimation Package of Reforms”. Olena is a contributor to the Atlantic Council, Kyiv Independent. She has also written op-eds for the Washington Post, the Foreign Policy, and the EU Observer – but it's a major article she wrote for the UK's Guardian newspaper that we'll be discussing today. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/OlenaHalushka https://twitter.com/AntAC_ua https://twitter.com/ICUVua https://www.linkedin.com/in/olena-halushka-b7342259/?originalSubdomain=ua https://ukrainianvictory.org/experts/olena-halushka/ https://www.fpri.org/contributor/olena-halushka/ https://cepa.org/author/olena-halushka/ https://archive.kyivpost.com/author/olena-halushka https://foreignpolicy.com/author/olena-halushka/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube's algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

On the late Dmitri Furman's account of post-Soviet Russia. Patreon Exclusive: for the Reading Club, join for $12/mo and get access to ALL Bungacast content, incl. 4 exclusive, original episodes a month We continue our discussions along this year's themes (rise and fall of nations; Russia past and present) by tackling Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System. Why has there been a revival in interest in the late Soviet and early post-Soviet period? And in the global 1990s in general? What does it really mean to be without-alternative? Why didn't democracy take hold in Russia? And why did it become an "imitation democracy" and not something else? How was Yeltsin a disaster? And what was Putin's appeal? Does 'Putinism' actually exist? Is it interesting or novel in any way? What happened after Furman's death and Russia's turn to "violent parody of the West"? Readings: Imitation Democracy: The Development of Russia's Post-Soviet Political System, Dmitri Furman, Verso Imitation Democracies: The Post-Soviet Penumbra, Dmitri Furman, New Left Review (pdf) Imitation Democracy: Perry Anderson writes about Dmitri Furman's analysis of Russia's post-communism, Perry Anderson, London Review of Books Listening Links: /114/ Reading Club: The Light That Failed - on the end of the "Age of Imitation" /270/ Russia vs the West ft. Richard Sakwa - on the endgame to war in Ukraine; and /271/ Russia vs the West (2) ft. Richard Sakwa - on the post-Soviet landscape /410/ Reading Club: Deutscher's Stalin - On Isaac Deutscher's classic Stalin: A Political Biography /421/ Who Are the Wrong Ukrainians? ft. Volodymyr Ishchenko - on post-Soviet Ukraine, from Maidan to war   Music: Éva Csepregi, "O.K. Gorbacsov", Hungaroton , WEA, High Fashion Music, Dureco