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Category: <span>Dispatches</span>

Dispatches

Category: Dispatches

Putin’s War on Ukraine Is a War on Academic Freedom and an Occasion for Solidarity in its Defense

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As I observed in a recent commentary, Russian teachers are at the center of whatever debate is still possible in Russia about Putin’s bloody war on Ukraine. The regime is doing its best to use public schools as vehicles of its propaganda, because it is only through propaganda and disinformation that its war can be sustained in the face of the Russian military’s incompetence and the extraordinary Ukrainian …

Between Horror and Hope

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Reflections on Putin’s war in Ukraine and its implications As the war in Ukraine unfolds, I am both horrified and hopeful. Day by day, the suffering of the Ukrainian people is ever worse. Yet, as well, the limited effectiveness of the brutal military actions of invading forces are likewise revealed day by day. Here, six notes on the horror, five notes on hope, and six reflections between hope and horror, followed …

Global Public Religions in an Age of Crisis

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The rising autocrats. The melting ice caps. The widening gyre of economic inequality. The tide of refugees at the Polish-Ukrainian border – or at Ciudad Juarez. The endless pandemic.  Those of us attempting to bear up under this parade of crises may look back with nostalgia at a time when only a single specter haunted a single continent. In our own times, it seems, that lone specter has …

Reasons for Military Pessimism in the Russia-Ukraine War

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Fickle are the keyboards of most people writing in the 21st century and those struck by strategic analysts are fickler still. Three weeks ago the vast majority of experts in military matters were forecasting a quick Russian victory in Ukraine, even against significant Ukrainian resistance. Russian armor was supposed to reach and take Kyiv in days, supported by paratroopers securing strategic airfields. The planes bearing the red star …

This Isn’t a Period

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It’s my seventh day in Hamburg. I’m sitting on the bedroom floor, leaning against the closed door, and talking on FaceTime with a close friend. People down the corridor are about to go to sleep. Then he says, “Write. Notes. On Twitter. On Instagram.” And I ask, “why?” He responds, “Maybe, a person will read them and feel better for a second.” I have never thought that I …

Further Thoughts on Ukrainian Heroism and its Tragic Limits

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From the moment that Russian troops first attacked his country on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskyy has bravely rallied his country, and much of the world, in opposition to Putin’s aggression. Since that time Ukrainians have fought bravely against the inefficient but brutal Russian military onslaught. They have been an example to everyone in the world who cares about freedom. Two weeks ago I wrote that Zelinskyy …

The Final Solution of the Ukrainian Question and What It Means for the World

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At first glance, it may seem like a strange and even a preposterous undertaking. My country is under attack. Thousands of people have already died. Many more may die in the upcoming days, even hours. Ukrainian cities are being shelled, schools and hospitals are being destroyed by bombs and artillery fire, women and children are hiding in bomb shelters and basements. The whole world is watching a gigantic …

Why We in the U.S. Should Care About Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

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Note: What follows is a talk that I presented on Tuesday, March 1, at a Teach-In organized by Indiana University’s Russian and East European Institute and held at the Hamilton-Lugar School of International Studies. I’d like to thank Sarah Phillips, Mark Trotter, and the the entire REEI staff for their work to organize the event, and give a shout out to Regina Smyth, for promoting the idea. — …

What explains Bolsonaro’s position on Russia’s aggression to Ukraine?

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In the wake of the strong, swift, and unified response of Europe, Western democracies, and most of the international community against the Russian war on Ukraine, the world witnessed what was unthinkable until a few days ago. Germany severed ties with its most important supplier of gas and announced multi billion dollar investment on its military. Norway froze Russian investments in its trillion-dollars sovereign fund. Sweden broke its …

Putin was shaped by US greed.

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His defeat must lead to global change When the Russian president is finally defeated in Ukraine, the West must avoid past mistakes to ensure peace I have never been so wrong about a major event that was so clearly forewarned. I was convinced that Vladimir Putin would not be so reckless as to launch a full-scale conquest of Ukraine, if only for the simple reason that he would …