On February 22, as the Ukraine crisis was unfolding and Russia was just hours away from invading its neighbor, Putin’s former Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky, told journalists that Ukraine today has to be seen as “a historical phantom.” Putin, he said, is taking “historic” decisions in line with “the spirit of the times.” Five … Continue reading The Ghosts of History Haunt the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
The ``Honorary Revolutionary Weapon” (“Pochetnoe Revoliutsionnoe Oruzhie”) was one of the earliest awards of the Russian Red Army and the only one dedicated to the Russian Civil War. Only 21 Red Army commanders received this award -- for exceptional military distinctions displayed during the 1917 revolutionary movement. Notably, 20 of them had previously fought in … Continue reading Marginalization, Military Service and Rebellion in Imperial Russia
In recent years there has been a welcome resurgence of research into the historical legacies shaping the economic and political trajectories of post-communist states. Not only do we have the conceptual vocabulary to grapple with the question of “what is a historical legacy?” but also emerging scholarship into the complex interactions among legacies associated with … Continue reading The Legacy of Russia’s Bourgeoisie through the Lens of History and Political Science
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important it is for states to have information about the societies they govern. In a scramble to contain a public health crisis, governments across the world – from the United States to India – are influencing how often we wash our hands and how many friends we meet. Public … Continue reading Count me if you can: Religious minorities and legibility in Imperial Russia