I think Konotop is the first Ukrainian station the train coming from Moscow used to arrive at. I remember waking up and seeing people going up and down the platform selling cakes by the slice. Still can't believe this timeline we are living in.

going to bed tonight with the same vibes as on feb 23, 2022

А почему они нуждаются в моей поддержке, госуслуги? Га? Га??

i don't understand what the big deal about Remeslo is. he's just like Prigozhin, but without guns. putin has lots of opponents among the z-crowd who think he's bungling the job.

the "special military operation" in international context

how is it that things only manage to get ever more shittier?

Did we really not know this before Gorshkov came along? Also, if you haven't yet looked him up on FB, you're in for a treat.

грёбаный февраль

И все это рассыпалось за месяц. Только потому, что какой-то торговец сжег себя в маленьком городке. zona.media/article/2026...

Slezkine and Shifrinson argue that the way to peace in the Russo-Ukraine war is de jure recognition of a new international border along the current front line. This argument is flawed. A 🧵: 1/8

the things we've lost

what's happening here?

I am writing toward a tight deadline, and the stress of it is having a strongly detrimental effect on my general outlook on life. Behold a thread of things I hate:

(belated post) This is the New Year message posted by one of the most ardent war-supporters I know.

bookmarked a website with knitting patterns many years ago, visited it today in a fit of procrastination. this is their language menu

"Видал ли крестьянин Заонежья дуб? Дуб ему знаком столько же, сколько нам с вами, читатель, какая-нибудь банана."

Not a fan of Levada, but still feels good to think about this.

thanks but no thanks

Sobering to have to tell your 18-year old kid (born and raised in NYC) to carry his passport around with him at all times because he's not white. Or for that matter, myself too, a U.S. citizen. Reminds me of visiting Russia when I would get constantly profiled by cops and asked for dokumenty.

One basic lesson from political research is that secret police generally rely on mediocre men willing to do the dirty work of authoritarian regimes in order to advance their careers. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...

abolish ice is the moderate position to be honest. whichever candidate promises to nuremberg the ice agents has my vote at this point

weird to have peaceful moments in this evil time we're living in

younger colleagues don't use facebook. how do i keep in touch with people i meet at conferences? hopefully the answer is not linkedin

...и никакой крапулы!

unbearable read with an inconceivable happy end

Если вас навек сплотили, Озарили и ведут, Не пытайтесь уклониться От движенья к торжеству. Все равно на труд поднимет И на подвиг вдохновит Вас великий и могучий, И надежный наш оплот.

“It’s pure Russophobia to assume that a Russian would run around stabbing someone over the ‘wrong’ nationality,” Medvedev wrote. He then added: “But the state still needs tougher migration controls.”

оказывается, на говоре пудожского района "одинокий" будет "дрочень" and posts like that are the main reason why i am here anonymously

absolute perfection

Chechnya and the Chechens are disliked in Russia - they are seen as having been bought off. I think a similar opinion might be developing about Mariupol.

remembered once coming across a story of a man who covered his apartment and city district with nonsensical writing, looked him up - he was from Kharkiv. he is long gone, his graffiti is gone, but also the city where he lived is now a completely different one

No comment.

1990s

Looks like someone is reprinting Soviet textbooks and selling them to Russian speakers in the US. Interesting market niche.

"Ленин также сожалел, что не владеет ни финским, ни шведским языком, и добавил, что теперь уже поздно для него изучать финский язык." You and me both, Vladimir, you and me both.

someone write a dissertation about this, quick!

so much time and so little to do

Finally maged to stay up long enough* to get to see this.** *until 10pm **much more impressive as a photo than in reality

"Rather than obstructing the Bolshevik takeover, the strike ended up facilitating it, spurring the Bolsheviks to build parallel organs of governance dedicated to revolutionary goals."

americans discover монстрация

грета молодец

and now they both are dead

Из дневника красноармейца Максима Александрова, участвовавшего в наступлении на Архангельск.

"Я слушала их — и чувствовала себя как будто внутри романа Кафки. Война, эвакуация, гибель домов — и тут же: «А вот эта куртка, глянь, хороша?»... Никто не задавал вопросов: Почему все это случилось?.. Все оставалось в границах конкретного, личного, бытового опыта." meduza.io/feature/2025...