The RUTA Association
@associationruta.bsky.social
The RUTA Association for Central, South-Eastern, and Eastern European, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and Northern Asia Studies in Global Conversation
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Quite breathtaking story - military grade drones at Dublin airport which flew on the path Zelensky's plane took. The drones reached the flight path of his plane exactly the time it should have been there, but just missed it because Zelensky arrived ahead of schedule:
Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin
Gardaí are investigating whether the drones took off from land in Dublin or from an undetected ship.
www.thejournal.ie
December 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Quite breathtaking story - military grade drones at Dublin airport which flew on the path Zelensky's plane took. The drones reached the flight path of his plane exactly the time it should have been there, but just missed it because Zelensky arrived ahead of schedule:
Reposted by The RUTA Association
“The research documents extensive Russian influence infrastructure across Europe. Several major EU political parties received Russian energy sector financing, including Austria’s FPÖ, France’s National Rally (€9.4 million loan, 2014), and Germany’s AfD (connections promoting Russian gas dependency)”
A new Razom We Stand report reveals how European parties & #Gazprom networks are helping Russia’s fossil-fuel profits.
While Ukrainians die, the #EU stop fueling Russia’s war.
Read the report - razomwestand.com/new-research...
While Ukrainians die, the #EU stop fueling Russia’s war.
Read the report - razomwestand.com/new-research...
December 3, 2025 at 12:53 PM
“The research documents extensive Russian influence infrastructure across Europe. Several major EU political parties received Russian energy sector financing, including Austria’s FPÖ, France’s National Rally (€9.4 million loan, 2014), and Germany’s AfD (connections promoting Russian gas dependency)”
Our next webinar will be a conversation among remarkable thinkers Adrian Ivakhiv, Kateryna Botanova, Kateryna Filyuk, Lesia Kulchynska, Taras Polataiko, Maria Sonevytsky, Oleksiy Vasyliuk and Olya Zikrata about reviving multispecies relations with the land
Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
December 3, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Our next webinar will be a conversation among remarkable thinkers Adrian Ivakhiv, Kateryna Botanova, Kateryna Filyuk, Lesia Kulchynska, Taras Polataiko, Maria Sonevytsky, Oleksiy Vasyliuk and Olya Zikrata about reviving multispecies relations with the land
Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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I have finally gotten around to writing a new piece for my newsletter. We hear a lot about "agreements" which could be reached with Russia in the future. So I decided to look at Russia's history through this lens. Spoiler alert: Don't expect Russia to abide by agreements as long as it's an empire.
The history of Russia as a history of Perpetual Agreement-Breaking
Russia has, for most of its history, been a colonial empire and remains one to this day. As long as this is the case, don't expect Russia to stick to its own agreements. The problem is structural.
efdavies.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
I have finally gotten around to writing a new piece for my newsletter. We hear a lot about "agreements" which could be reached with Russia in the future. So I decided to look at Russia's history through this lens. Spoiler alert: Don't expect Russia to abide by agreements as long as it's an empire.
Reposted by The RUTA Association
More than three decades after USSR’s collapse, Moscow still refuses to accept that its former colonies are now internationally recognized sovereign nations. Russia’s war against Ukraine is the horrifying embodiment of this refusal. A nightmarish attempt to turn back the time.
Ignore any Trump admin and/or Ru apologist talk about progress. Ru demands remain maximalist, outrageous, and, most importantly, disconnected from the realities of the battlefield. Only an immediate ceasefire is progress. The discussion in Moscow today was useless noise. Ru continues its aggression.
December 3, 2025 at 8:22 AM
More than three decades after USSR’s collapse, Moscow still refuses to accept that its former colonies are now internationally recognized sovereign nations. Russia’s war against Ukraine is the horrifying embodiment of this refusal. A nightmarish attempt to turn back the time.
RUTA continues to stand in solidarity with the Georgian civil resistance movement for democracy and freedom from Russian interference and occupation
🇬🇪| This week’s Georgia: Explained is out.
One year of daily protests, BBC Eye’s investigation into a banned toxic chemical used on protesters, and the arrest of Aleko Elisashvili after trying to burn the City Court chancellery: shorturl.at/ji0V5
One year of daily protests, BBC Eye’s investigation into a banned toxic chemical used on protesters, and the arrest of Aleko Elisashvili after trying to burn the City Court chancellery: shorturl.at/ji0V5
December 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
RUTA continues to stand in solidarity with the Georgian civil resistance movement for democracy and freedom from Russian interference and occupation
Reposted by The RUTA Association
Health research as a site of resistance
Georgia’s SSS has now summoned pediatric doctor Konstantine Chakhunashvili for interrogation—one of the experts featured in the BBC’s investigation.
Konstantine co-authored a scientific study on the health impacts of the December 2024 crackdowns, which we now know involved a WW1-era chemical agent.
Konstantine co-authored a scientific study on the health impacts of the December 2024 crackdowns, which we now know involved a WW1-era chemical agent.
December 2, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Health research as a site of resistance
Concerning findings from Georgia
According to a BBC investigation, the Georgian Dream regime used a WWI-era chemical agent called “camite” during last year’s protests. This finally explains the symptoms many of us experienced both on the night of the crackdown and in the following months.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
WW1 toxic compound sprayed on Georgian protesters, BBC evidence suggests
Anti-government demonstrators are likely to have been targeted with camite, our investigation finds.
www.bbc.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Concerning findings from Georgia
Reposted by The RUTA Association
A crucial episode in which Botakoz Kassymbekova takes a critical look at ‘imperial innocence’ and the Soviet tale of the ‘friendship among nations’, exploring how the so-called friendship served as a colonial tool, reinforcing racial hierarchies, inequality, and systemic injustice under Soviet rule
Bombastic new episode of YurtJurt podcast!
Tune in to listen to the amazing BOTAKOZ KASSYMBEKOVA!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
open.spotify.com/episode/1CfN...
Tune in to listen to the amazing BOTAKOZ KASSYMBEKOVA!
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
open.spotify.com/episode/1CfN...
Imperial Innocence and the Undignified Empire with Botakoz Kassymbekova
open.spotify.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:52 PM
A crucial episode in which Botakoz Kassymbekova takes a critical look at ‘imperial innocence’ and the Soviet tale of the ‘friendship among nations’, exploring how the so-called friendship served as a colonial tool, reinforcing racial hierarchies, inequality, and systemic injustice under Soviet rule
For all RUTA members and friends who might be in London this week, this book launch will be of interest!
Come to SSEES on Thursday 4 Dec for my book discussion with my editor and colleague Ben Noble!
I’m bringing Kazakhstani chocolate ;)
www.hurstpublishers.com/event/what-d...
I’m bringing Kazakhstani chocolate ;)
www.hurstpublishers.com/event/what-d...
What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani? w/ Diana T. Kudaibergen | HURST
Join Diana T. Kudaibergen, author of What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani?, for a SSEES Politics and Sociology book launch.
www.hurstpublishers.com
December 1, 2025 at 3:01 PM
For all RUTA members and friends who might be in London this week, this book launch will be of interest!
Reposted by The RUTA Association
Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko: "What makes Ukrainian culture particularly unique in gender terms?...We never burned our witches....the ancient pagan tradition of strong, wise women endured in Ukraine far longer than in most of Europe"...More importantly, Ukrainian women historically had legal […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 28, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Last days to send us abstracts for our next conference of the RUTA Association for Central, South-Eastern, and Eastern European, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and Northern Asian Studies in Global Conversation, exploring the role of rooted and embodied knowledges as catalysts of change: apply by Nov 30
Our 2026 RUTA conference will be exploring the role of embodied knowledges and knowledges rooted in the places we conduct research about. We will discuss how the making of knowledge, art and cultural heritage changes when it is grounded in places and communities and which possibilities this opens
November 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Last days to send us abstracts for our next conference of the RUTA Association for Central, South-Eastern, and Eastern European, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and Northern Asian Studies in Global Conversation, exploring the role of rooted and embodied knowledges as catalysts of change: apply by Nov 30
Reposted by The RUTA Association
If you missed the talk, here’s a core text exploring the USSR as a colonial project and addressing the lack of critical engagement with Soviet settler colonialism and the historical interconnections of socialism and colonialism that ought to be dealt with
www.southsouthmovement.org/dialogues/ex...
www.southsouthmovement.org/dialogues/ex...
November 27, 2025 at 6:58 PM
If you missed the talk, here’s a core text exploring the USSR as a colonial project and addressing the lack of critical engagement with Soviet settler colonialism and the historical interconnections of socialism and colonialism that ought to be dealt with
www.southsouthmovement.org/dialogues/ex...
www.southsouthmovement.org/dialogues/ex...
Reposted by The RUTA Association
The new issue of Central Asian Affairs journal is out! We have fascinating pieces on Central Asian politics and a book forum on film studies in the region.
Don’t forget to cite and share! we are also always looking for submissions from early career & regional scholars!
brill.com/downloadpdf/...
Don’t forget to cite and share! we are also always looking for submissions from early career & regional scholars!
brill.com/downloadpdf/...
brill.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The new issue of Central Asian Affairs journal is out! We have fascinating pieces on Central Asian politics and a book forum on film studies in the region.
Don’t forget to cite and share! we are also always looking for submissions from early career & regional scholars!
brill.com/downloadpdf/...
Don’t forget to cite and share! we are also always looking for submissions from early career & regional scholars!
brill.com/downloadpdf/...
RUTA co-founder, historian @kassymbekova.bsky.social, will be giving a talk today on Destalinization as Decolonization. Her talk will explore why acknowledging Soviet and post-Soviet colonialism is not merely a matter of historical accuracy, but a necessary step toward imagining a democratic future.
A webinar on destalinization as decolonization: what does it mean to recognise the Soviet ‘Union’ and post-Soviet Russia as a colonial project and why is it essential to confront and overcome an ongoing imperial and not only an authoritarian legacy
Registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Registration: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM
RUTA co-founder, historian @kassymbekova.bsky.social, will be giving a talk today on Destalinization as Decolonization. Her talk will explore why acknowledging Soviet and post-Soviet colonialism is not merely a matter of historical accuracy, but a necessary step toward imagining a democratic future.
RUTA Co-Founder, Board Member, and political philosopher Tereza Hendl alongside human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and head of the Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk doing crucial work in the protection of human rights and democracy in Ukraine and across the OSCE region
About thinkers from Europe’s East whose work is visionary: it was an honour to meet @avalaina.bsky.social, hear her talk and also get to discuss the reparative work we do with @associationruta.bsky.social in research on/with Europe’s East, Baltic, Caucasus, Central and North Asia in global dialogues
November 26, 2025 at 6:53 PM
RUTA Co-Founder, Board Member, and political philosopher Tereza Hendl alongside human rights defender, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and head of the Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk doing crucial work in the protection of human rights and democracy in Ukraine and across the OSCE region
From RUTA member Selbi Durdiyeva: “Critics have described the US-Russia plan as ‘a gift to Putin’, as it aligns with the Kremlin’s longstanding demands while disregarding Ukraine’s legal rights. It would transform the future of millions of Ukrainians into a bargaining chip for great-power politics.”
Analysis by legal scholar of transitional justice Selbi Durdiyeva. The US-RU occupation plan for Ukraine is trying to secure an amnesty and continuous impunity for Russian imperialism and its crimes, including against humanity
Accountability and justice instead
theconversation.com/any-peace-de...
Accountability and justice instead
theconversation.com/any-peace-de...
November 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
From RUTA member Selbi Durdiyeva: “Critics have described the US-Russia plan as ‘a gift to Putin’, as it aligns with the Kremlin’s longstanding demands while disregarding Ukraine’s legal rights. It would transform the future of millions of Ukrainians into a bargaining chip for great-power politics.”
Reposted by The RUTA Association
This transcript of a short phone call on 14 October between Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, is the most mind-bending thing you will read for a long time. Who obtained the recording, and how? (gift link)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Witkoff Discusses Ukraine Plans With Key Putin Aide: Transcript
The following is a transcript of an Oct. 14 phone call lasting just over 5 minutes between Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s most senio...
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This transcript of a short phone call on 14 October between Steve Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s most senior foreign-policy adviser, is the most mind-bending thing you will read for a long time. Who obtained the recording, and how? (gift link)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by The RUTA Association
Hundreds of residents of the city of Kyiv are still in the underground metro, seeking to protect their lives and get at least a little sleep before the next workday or school day. Meanwhile, russians continue their latest attacks on Ukraine.
November 25, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Hundreds of residents of the city of Kyiv are still in the underground metro, seeking to protect their lives and get at least a little sleep before the next workday or school day. Meanwhile, russians continue their latest attacks on Ukraine.
Reposted by The RUTA Association
While empires are ravaging Ukraine, think about donating to Ukrainians if you can. And consider de-centring these empires from your cultural consumption. There is fantastic music and literature in Ukraine that Russia is trying to destroy. Support it by learning about it. chapterukraine.com
Ukrainian literature in English translation – Chapter Ukraine
Build your own bookshelf dedicated to Ukrainian literature in English translation. | Chapter Ukraine
chapterukraine.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:32 PM
While empires are ravaging Ukraine, think about donating to Ukrainians if you can. And consider de-centring these empires from your cultural consumption. There is fantastic music and literature in Ukraine that Russia is trying to destroy. Support it by learning about it. chapterukraine.com
Reposted by The RUTA Association
Keep in mind that these talks now in Geneva do not include russia and therefore are quite meaningless. The moment something reasonable emerges out of them, Ru will cry out that it opposes it vehemently. They've been largely silent the past few days for a reason.
November 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Keep in mind that these talks now in Geneva do not include russia and therefore are quite meaningless. The moment something reasonable emerges out of them, Ru will cry out that it opposes it vehemently. They've been largely silent the past few days for a reason.
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On the negotiating tactics of the Soviet empire that Russia continues: Demand something that has never been yours. Present ultimatums, threaten. Do not give one inch in negotiations because there will always be people in the West who will offer you something [that was not theirs to “give” either]
November 24, 2025 at 3:57 PM
On the negotiating tactics of the Soviet empire that Russia continues: Demand something that has never been yours. Present ultimatums, threaten. Do not give one inch in negotiations because there will always be people in the West who will offer you something [that was not theirs to “give” either]
Reposted by The RUTA Association
The amnesty is perhaps the most offensive part of the unworkable Trump proposal.
⚡️ Ukraine is investigating a staggering 178,000 Russian war crimes as Trump’s peace plan raises fears it could grant amnesty to Russian troops.
Ukraine Probes 178,000 Russian War Crimes as US Peace Plan Sparks Amnesty Fears
Investigations into 178,000 alleged war crimes by Russian forces are ongoing in Ukraine amid discussions on a contentious US peace strategy.
united24media.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The amnesty is perhaps the most offensive part of the unworkable Trump proposal.
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About the analogies: the Putin-Trump occupation plan is much worse than the Munich betrayal as it comes after 11 years of Russian occupation of Ukraine, with systemic killing, torture, sexualised violence, genocidal abduction and assimilation of children, settling of occupied land… all in the open
November 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM
About the analogies: the Putin-Trump occupation plan is much worse than the Munich betrayal as it comes after 11 years of Russian occupation of Ukraine, with systemic killing, torture, sexualised violence, genocidal abduction and assimilation of children, settling of occupied land… all in the open
Reposted by The RUTA Association
The Trump admin is like a hapless student who can't decide whether to say they plagiarized or wrote the terrible essay they submitted. It's a lose-lose situation, really.
Russia-Ukraine war: US insists it authored peace plan
Russia-Ukraine war: US insists it authored peace plan
It comes after a group of senators said they were told by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the draft did not reflect Washington's position.
www.bbc.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:31 AM
The Trump admin is like a hapless student who can't decide whether to say they plagiarized or wrote the terrible essay they submitted. It's a lose-lose situation, really.