Masha Cerovic
@mcerovic.bsky.social
Associate Professor, History, CERCEC - EHESS (Paris) / Russian empire, Soviet Union, war history, borderlands, military occupations, partisan warfare, Soviet-Nazi war
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November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
This thread was composed using blueskythreads.xyz
Think about the road ahead. Choose.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Think about the road ahead. Choose.
You will have to stop them from speaking up, from fighting on, from looking for justice, from reminding everyone of what happened, from smuggling books and money and weapons, because Russia will complain that this is all Nazi provocation against which they will have to defend themselves.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
You will have to stop them from speaking up, from fighting on, from looking for justice, from reminding everyone of what happened, from smuggling books and money and weapons, because Russia will complain that this is all Nazi provocation against which they will have to defend themselves.
If you think that you just have to throw Ukraine under the bus, that if these guys just shut up, then everyone else could just live on, you need to consider that you, yes you, in Europe, will need to actively collaborate in shutting them up.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
If you think that you just have to throw Ukraine under the bus, that if these guys just shut up, then everyone else could just live on, you need to consider that you, yes you, in Europe, will need to actively collaborate in shutting them up.
If you are not ready to defend what we have now, if you are willing to capitulate in order to appease the guy with the large army who only ever defends himself, you'll destroy what you have and go back to having to fight to regain it.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
If you are not ready to defend what we have now, if you are willing to capitulate in order to appease the guy with the large army who only ever defends himself, you'll destroy what you have and go back to having to fight to regain it.
Many other societies are facing much longer odds in this fight, and yet, they have not peacefully accepted their fate either.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Many other societies are facing much longer odds in this fight, and yet, they have not peacefully accepted their fate either.
And if you think that it won't come to that in Europe, because Europeans are somehow better than all those corrupt lazy people elsewhere who are simply unable to have a functioning state, you're just discarding the experience of all the European countries that were forced to fight to free themselves
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
And if you think that it won't come to that in Europe, because Europeans are somehow better than all those corrupt lazy people elsewhere who are simply unable to have a functioning state, you're just discarding the experience of all the European countries that were forced to fight to free themselves
If you think that in Europe, we're already there (and yes, there's a lot of very brutal and undemocratic aspects here as well), then I'd suggest travelling a bit, because you're in for a rude awakening.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
If you think that in Europe, we're already there (and yes, there's a lot of very brutal and undemocratic aspects here as well), then I'd suggest travelling a bit, because you're in for a rude awakening.
If you don't want that army, you'll end up with a police who'll come after you when you protest.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
If you don't want that army, you'll end up with a police who'll come after you when you protest.
If you want the rule of law, the emancipation, the possibility to protest and defend your worker rights, your environment, your people, you need an army that is willing to defend them against external powers that see contest and resistance as agression.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
If you want the rule of law, the emancipation, the possibility to protest and defend your worker rights, your environment, your people, you need an army that is willing to defend them against external powers that see contest and resistance as agression.
Or you can build systems that will work to protect your powerful neighbors and their friends, to sustain unaccountability, to repress the crazies who won't accept the reality of power, and to reward those who do and who are grateful for what they are given.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Or you can build systems that will work to protect your powerful neighbors and their friends, to sustain unaccountability, to repress the crazies who won't accept the reality of power, and to reward those who do and who are grateful for what they are given.
You can work to find ways to make it possible, to make room for the conflicts and tensions in society, to try and sustain systems that make members of society somewhat accountable towards each other.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
You can work to find ways to make it possible, to make room for the conflicts and tensions in society, to try and sustain systems that make members of society somewhat accountable towards each other.
And second, even if you personally, or even large groups in society, accept capitulation, the struggle for emancipation, dignity, accountability never actually ends.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
And second, even if you personally, or even large groups in society, accept capitulation, the struggle for emancipation, dignity, accountability never actually ends.
But first, renouncing that ideal - call it independence, autonomy, emancipation, democracy, as you wish - has real, tangible costs.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
But first, renouncing that ideal - call it independence, autonomy, emancipation, democracy, as you wish - has real, tangible costs.
Yes, emancipation is a never realized ideal, so many conclude that it's but a fairy tale and claim that it's better to accept the violence of power as reality, rather than feed the illusion.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Yes, emancipation is a never realized ideal, so many conclude that it's but a fairy tale and claim that it's better to accept the violence of power as reality, rather than feed the illusion.
Many people and groups can try and profit in some way from the arrangement. Those who cannot can still find joy and meaning in their lives. Indeed, we all have to deal with power, inequalities, unfairness, corruption and brutality, in all societies through history.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Many people and groups can try and profit in some way from the arrangement. Those who cannot can still find joy and meaning in their lives. Indeed, we all have to deal with power, inequalities, unfairness, corruption and brutality, in all societies through history.
Before you know it, your state has been captured. Now, that's not an unlivable situation. Many, probably most people have lived in such conditions. Emancipation is not a necessity. Most states don't serve their populations.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Before you know it, your state has been captured. Now, that's not an unlivable situation. Many, probably most people have lived in such conditions. Emancipation is not a necessity. Most states don't serve their populations.
Before long, the increasingly unpopular state apparatus and parts of the business elite need Russia to protect their own positions. It breeds a vicious cycle of resentment, bitterness and strife, as the possibility of collective action disappears.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Before long, the increasingly unpopular state apparatus and parts of the business elite need Russia to protect their own positions. It breeds a vicious cycle of resentment, bitterness and strife, as the possibility of collective action disappears.
There's the domestic rivals who just won't acccept defeat. And they all won't shut up. So the Russia allied state apparatus has to shut them up. Lock them up, beat them up, blackmail them, threaten them, kill them.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
There's the domestic rivals who just won't acccept defeat. And they all won't shut up. So the Russia allied state apparatus has to shut them up. Lock them up, beat them up, blackmail them, threaten them, kill them.
Those who are enraged about the corruption, about the money that goes toward all those deals and never comes to them, about the hushed up environmental disaster or dead workers or people blind from adulterated alcohol because corrupt officials turned a blind eye.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Those who are enraged about the corruption, about the money that goes toward all those deals and never comes to them, about the hushed up environmental disaster or dead workers or people blind from adulterated alcohol because corrupt officials turned a blind eye.
There are those who won't shut up about their dead parents, the girls trafficked at the villa, the murdered guy in the park.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
There are those who won't shut up about their dead parents, the girls trafficked at the villa, the murdered guy in the park.
The compromises are acceptable to them. But here's the real catch: not only do they have to accept the corruption, the silence, the renouncements etc, but because a lot of people won't, they need to turn their own state against these, to shut them up.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
The compromises are acceptable to them. But here's the real catch: not only do they have to accept the corruption, the silence, the renouncements etc, but because a lot of people won't, they need to turn their own state against these, to shut them up.
Because Russia finds people willing to accept its demands, to "defend" Russia from inside the countries. They profit from the business, they share some values or political goals, they seek a powerful outside patron against their domestic enemies.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Because Russia finds people willing to accept its demands, to "defend" Russia from inside the countries. They profit from the business, they share some values or political goals, they seek a powerful outside patron against their domestic enemies.
Oh, and how dare you have Russian nationals within your borders that the Russian government does not like? You need to hand them over, or let Russia "take care" of them, that's just fair, that's just defense. Now, usually, Russia (or other such imperial. powers) won't need the tanks.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Oh, and how dare you have Russian nationals within your borders that the Russian government does not like? You need to hand them over, or let Russia "take care" of them, that's just fair, that's just defense. Now, usually, Russia (or other such imperial. powers) won't need the tanks.
What, you want to know where our money is coming from? You dare investigate corruption surrounding our businesses? You dare imply that we're buying people off? You talk about accountability? Slander, agression! Russia has to intervene, it has to defend itself.
November 29, 2025 at 11:55 AM
What, you want to know where our money is coming from? You dare investigate corruption surrounding our businesses? You dare imply that we're buying people off? You talk about accountability? Slander, agression! Russia has to intervene, it has to defend itself.