Historian of 20th C international relations, USSR, communism in global/transnational frameworks; professor at Western University and King's University College. www.oleksadrachewych.com
My latest academic article reconsidering Comintern platforms on anti-imperialism and anti-racism in light of Russian instrumentalization of this and related history: brill.com/view/journal...
The latest edition of Russian History, "Re-interpreting Russian History After February 24, 2022," edited by yours truly, is finally out. A variety of topics and some provocative pieces, including an article by me on Comintern anti-imperialism: brill.com/view/journal...
ICYMI:
I had the opportunity to be the Ukraine: the Latest podcast to discuss my research on parallels and connections between Soviet atrocities during the Second World War and after and Russian atrocities in Ukraine today. If interested, it can be heard at the link below. shows.acast.com/6583012e715d...
Some have reached out about when the book will come out; I can't say for certain as that depends on peer review and production schedule, but I will share news as I have it. It's encouraging to hear of the positive response to the podcast and the interest in the research.
I had the opportunity to be the Ukraine: the Latest podcast to discuss my research on parallels and connections between Soviet atrocities during the Second World War and after and Russian atrocities in Ukraine today. If interested, it can be heard at the link below. shows.acast.com/6583012e715d...
I had the opportunity to be the Ukraine: the Latest podcast to discuss my research on parallels and connections between Soviet atrocities during the Second World War and after and Russian atrocities in Ukraine today. If interested, it can be heard at the link below. shows.acast.com/6583012e715d...
Revised manuscript submitted. Here's hoping for good news quickly and the book can move into production sooner rather than later. The parallels between the Soviet Union and the Second World War and Russia's actions in Ukraine today are significant and deeper than we think.
And again right out of the Soviet Second World War experience - instead of German tanks paraded and displayed in Moscow, it's Western tanks today: www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...
Display in Moscow features British Saxon armoured personnel carrier, US Bradley tank and Swedish CV90
www.independent.co.ukReminder that H-Russia is always looking for book reviewers. If you're a scholar of Russia, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe or Central Asia (from PhD students to junior scholars to senior scholars) and interested, please reach out!
Almost done. I've made it my goal to get this done this weekend. Putting it out in the public to hopefully hold me to it.
So revisions not yet done. Give me strength (and time) to do this this week. I'm trying...I really want this work out to help explain what really is happening in Ukraine.
So revisions not yet done. Give me strength (and time) to do this this week. I'm trying...I really want this work out to help explain what really is happening in Ukraine.
A busy week - last full week of classes, hopefully getting my manuscript revisions submitted for the book, hopefully setting myself up to catch up on some very late work I owe people next week. Wish me luck...
A worthwhile read that does well to convincingly dismiss certain myths of the April 2022 peace negotiations while highlighting the perceived motivations for decisions made and highlighting the speculative nature of understanding Russian aims. www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/talk...
A hidden history of diplomacy that came up short—but holds lessons for future negotiations.
www.foreignaffairs.comIt is that time of year again when I'm reminded of my precarity in academia. "What are you teaching next year?" "Have no clue. Email me in July. Hopefully, I will know." Great to know I've made an impact, but each class ending reminds me I may never teach these students again.
A busy week - last full week of classes, hopefully getting my manuscript revisions submitted for the book, hopefully setting myself up to catch up on some very late work I owe people next week. Wish me luck...
Reminder that H-Russia is always looking for book reviewers. If you're a scholar of Russia, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe or Central Asia (from PhD students to junior scholars to senior scholars) and interested, please reach out!
Read this report. If you read Russian, it includes links to the Ministry documents themselves. Read them. This is systematic ethnic cleansing and this does contravene the Genocide Convention. They are not hiding it. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
In the two years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has forcibly deported thousands of Ukrainian children. While the total number of these deported minors is unknown, Kyi...
meduza.ioReview this report shared by the OHCHR that came out yesterday. It confirms, again, much of what we have already known of Russian war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, sometimes in detail. We must continue to detail and record these crimes and hope for justice: www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
Non-official UN languages: Ukrainian Українська (PDF)
www.ohchr.orgI have big plans to get multiple things off my plate work wise this weekend. Tweeting this so when I inevitably fail to complete it all, I can publicly commiserate.
This is something we have known for much of the escalation so far and more and more evidence keeps coming out. Russian forces have done terrible things to Ukrainians and it will have consequences that last long after any end to war: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
A wonderful review of an important new book in the field. Can't wait to get my copy and the review confirms that it will be well worth the read.
I had the pleasure of reviewing Masha Kirasirova's excellent new book with Oxford University Press "The Eastern International: Arabs, Central Asians, and Jews in the Soviet Union's Anticolonial Empire" for the Russian Review. Check out the review (available open access) here: doi.org/10.1111/russ...
This is taking "turning the other cheek" to dangerous ends. 🇷🇺 refuses to negotiate anything other than their terms. Francis saying it is "courageous" for 🇺🇦 to negotiate with 🇷🇺 to end the war, when it would condemn all Ukrainians under Russian territory. www.reuters.com/world/europe...
Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands.
www.reuters.comI had the privilege to be on the Big Story Podcast to discuss the Russo-Ukrainian War. Check it out here: open.spotify.com/episode/6r6V...
Listen to this episode from The Big Story on Spotify. Recent reports have seen Russian forces make some of their biggest gains into Ukrainian territory in recent weeks, while aid for Ukraine from west...
open.spotify.comICYMI
With today marking two years since Russia escalated its war against Ukraine, I wrote a short piece sharing what we know at this point: oleksadrachewych.com/2024/02/24/t...
It has been two years since Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. While much ink has been spilled trying to analyze the events over t...
oleksadrachewych.comSame old, same old from Putin. No, the nuclear threats are not new. No, Russia is not interested in peace. Putin's foreign policy statements in speech are to enhance cracks and divide the consensus to support Ukraine. Moving on...
Got to love when the youtube comments to your recent podcast appearance are all pro-Russian or bots.
Had the privilege of being on the Big Story Podcast (recorded Friday, out today) to discuss the Russo-Ukrainian War, where it stands, the role of international support, and the consequences of the limitations of that international support, along with a lot more. If interested, listen here:
Recent reports have seen Russian forces make some of their biggest gains into Ukrainian territory in recent weeks, while aid for Ukraine from western allies has become harder and harder to come by. Do...
thebigstorypodcast.caWith today marking two years since Russia escalated its war against Ukraine, I wrote a short piece sharing what we know at this point: oleksadrachewych.com/2024/02/24/t...
It has been two years since Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the “special military operation” in Ukraine. While much ink has been spilled trying to analyze the events over t...
oleksadrachewych.comThis is just a reminder that there are a wealth of great scholars of Russia and Ukraine who could speak on two years since Russia escalated its war against Ukraine. Lean on expertise.
Nearly two years ago, I wrote about the duty historians have to respond to Putin's instrumentalization of history while correcting his narrative. Two years later, this work is still necessary. activehistory.ca/blog/2022/03...
Oleksa Drachewych On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his war of aggression against Ukraine. He began a “special military action” claiming he would “demilitarize” and “…
activehistory.caThere is something to be said that with it being two years since Russia's escalation in Ukraine, I have not yet been asked to speak with media.
This is a great moment to remind people that the world that existed before Feb. 24, 2022 no longer exists. And that world is definitely not returning if Russia learns its aggression will be rewarded. Instead, it learns it can dictate terms in many realms and that other nations will fold.
ICYMI: My piece in the Moscow Times on why peace is elusive in the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Opinion | As 2023 drew to a close, a fresh round of columns calling for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine appeared in Western news outlets.
www.themoscowtimes.comAllow me to respectfully disagree. To say he's "off the rails" suggests he's irrational. He is not. He took the opportunity to double-down on his instrumentalization of history and in his typical style (See Feb 21 2022). He also said what the far-right wants to hear re: Russia on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US senators are working to advance a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine and Israel, but its prospects in the House remain uncertain.
www.businessinsider.comIf you still believe NATO "expansion" is why the Russo-Ukrainian War expanded in Feb 2022, you need to explain Russia's limited response to Finnish & Swedish entry. Ukraine is clearly different. Russian atrocities further highlight this. The war is imperial. (1/2)
If people take anything from this piece, take this point: "The Western tendency to reduce mass-scale crime to an omnipotent leader has always been a misleading one." Use what we know of Stalinism, from many historians, to help us understand what is happening today. www.cnn.com/2024/01/20/o...
Jade McGlynn explores the true picture behind newly built ‘Stalin Centers’ and statues – and Putin’s delicate balancing act on the former Communist dictator.
www.cnn.comMy panel on 1919 as a key year in the 20th century, recorded at the Stratford Festival last summer for CBC ideas, is now online: www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/...
Highly recommend. I share it with students every year and the excitement they gain from being able to dive into these resources is significant.
New collections added:
• Radical Times Archive (Australia with a QLD focus)
• Queer Indonesia Archive
Over 500 online and open access collections of radical, left-wing, labour and anti-colonial historical documents now listed. A great resource for researchers!
I am very interested in the growing amount of radical literature from around the world that is being scanned and digitised. As there are so many and from many different places, I thought it would be u...
hatfulofhistory.wordpress.comH-Russia is always looking for more contributors to its blog series "Decolonizing Russian Studies" (networks.h-net.org/group/317) or "Starting Points" (networks.h-net.org/group/321). To see past posts and the CFP, click the respective links. Reach out if interested in contributing!
ICYMI: My latest on why peace is elusive in the Russo-Ukrainian War and why many calling for peace need to realize what that means.
My latest in the Moscow Times: Calling for an End to War Is Not the Same as Calling for Peace www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/05/c...
Opinion | As 2023 drew to a close, a fresh round of columns calling for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine appeared in Western news outlets.
www.themoscowtimes.comICYMI:
My latest in the Moscow Times: Calling for an End to War Is Not the Same as Calling for Peace www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/05/c...
Opinion | As 2023 drew to a close, a fresh round of columns calling for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine appeared in Western news outlets.
www.themoscowtimes.comIf only I can find the time - some (what I feel are) important pieces I'm working on to come out this year. Allow me to just find the time to finish them.
If only I can find the time - some exciting and (what I feel are) important pieces I'm working on to come out this year. Allow me to just find the time to finish them.
Rereading it today as I work to complete an article, but Brigid O'Keeffe's The Multiethnic Soviet Union and its Demise is truly a great book and overview of the subject.
Alright...a day before first class, I have the reading list (mostly) figured out for my 4th year Russia and the West seminar. Now to figure out the rest of my other 4th year seminar: Russia, The Soviet Union, and the Global South.
ICYMI:
My latest in the Moscow Times: Calling for an End to War Is Not the Same as Calling for Peace www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/05/c...
Opinion | As 2023 drew to a close, a fresh round of columns calling for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine appeared in Western news outlets.
www.themoscowtimes.comMy latest in the Moscow Times: Calling for an End to War Is Not the Same as Calling for Peace www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/01/05/c...
Opinion | As 2023 drew to a close, a fresh round of columns calling for a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine appeared in Western news outlets.
www.themoscowtimes.comA sampling of my favorite books of 2023. I'll add I look forward to Popova and Shevel's new book Russia and Ukraine, and Mark Edele's Russia's War in Ukraine, which both should arrive in the new year.
2023 is nearly over. It was a rewarding year professionally - I earned a second teaching award. I finished a book manuscript. I've read great research. Finished two articles. Had some opportunities to share my research in public forums. Taught new classes. What about 2024?
Working on this piece as I post this.
Perhaps I need to offer to write a renewed piece somewhere discussing why, to start 2024, peace remains elusive despite what noise and chatter has been reported.