Dr. Ian Garner

CALL FOR PAPERS: International academic conference „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” | Deadline for submissions: April 30 - Instytut Pileckiego The Pilecki Institute in Warsaw invites scholars to take part in the international academic conference “Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground”, to be held on 15–17 June 2026 at the Inst...

Calling Central Asianists! CFP for the conference “Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” in Warsaw, 15-17 June, is now open. Some travel funding available.

Me neither

Time to overcome Western arrogance – by Franziska Davies “Russia can be defeated; Russia has been defeated before. The question is not one of possibility, but of political will.” – Franziska Davies

Time to overcome Western arrogance – by Franziska Davies
forbetterscience.com/2026/02/24/t...

Spent two days fighting my laptop to make this visual of YouTube discourse about Russia's "Great Patriotic War" and Ukraine, so Reviewer 2 had better bloody love it.

Russia soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops in Ukraine war executed on commanders' orders Four men expose the horror and brutality of conditions in the Ukraine war, with two saying they saw soldiers being shot for refusing orders.

Extremely graphic content!!

#BBCNews - Russia soldiers tell BBC they saw fellow troops in Ukraine war executed on commanders' orders
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#UkraineWar

1 “If you don’t use AI to automate your entire research process you are an idiot”
2 “If you even think about touching AI for research you are the great satan”

⬆️ Professors on social media showing off their nuanced thinking and debating skills.

1 “If you don’t use AI to automate your entire research process you are an idiot”
2 “If you even think about touching AI for research you are the great satan”

⬆️ Professors on social media showing off their nuanced thinking and debating skills.

Z Generation | Hurst Publishers New and Updated Paperback Edition A disturbing portrait of the fascist youth movements warping Russian society and politics.

Meanwhile in Russia: @FT Book of the Year, ‘Z Generation by @irgarner.bsky.social paints a disturbing portrait of Russia’s fascist youth movement. ‘An incandescent indictment of [Putin’s] regime.’ @thetimes.com

Now in paperback: tinyurl.com/mr2ny9yh

The headline sucks, nowhere do I say anything close to “Putin can’t survive without war” 🤷‍♂️

Putin can’t survive without war

In attempting to destroy Ukraine, Russia has turned itself into the land of the dead. My reflection on four years of war. unherd.com/2026/02/puti...

Queen of Warsaw

Also absurd.

New UK border rules for dual nationals are discriminatory against women, campaigners say British women in Spain and Greece face ‘huge problems’ entering UK because of differing surname rules

One more way in which Britain's government has come up with an immensely stupid system. As a dual national, why can't I just enter on my Canadian passport with a £16 ETA? Why do I need a British passport or a £600 "certificate of entitlement"? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

If the racists did ever forbid dual citizenship, I would kiss my British passport goodbye without a second thought.

We’re moving ever further toward “you’re not British/English if you’re not white.” Multi-generational Englishness proof or you’re out. Fun prediction: they will propose forbidding dual citizenship.

Russian papers avoid mentioning Alexei Navalny and poisoning claim. YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg

What are today’s Russian papers reporting about the second anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s death & the joint statement by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany & The Netherlands that Mr Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin?

Nothing.

#ReadingRussia

Trump and Rubio praise Orbán: the godfather of Western corruption And copy his attacks on free speech and press freedom

Good piece by @nickcohen.bsky.social on the corrupt Putin-aligned autocracy that Trump, Rubio and their fans would like the rest of Europe to emulate:
open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

Every day Trump finds a new way to post the most bonkers thing you have ever read

The men’s gold medal hockey game at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics between Canada and the United States was, and still is, the most-watched television broadcast in Canadian history with an average audience of 16.6 million Canadians watching, roughly one-half of Canada's population in 2010.

Epstein 'helped Russia get kompromat on western elites for DECADES' He said the FBI had evidence that links the disgraced billionaire paedophile to Russian organised crime - often a front for the then Soviet communist regime - as far back as the 1970s.

No pinch of salt could ever be big enough to deal with the things Christopher Steele claims

Also, to confirm Ben's opinion, James Dean Bradfield was monstrously good. That music is not easy to play and he nailed it with the requisite splenetic energy.

I saw them play the whole album live in a small concert hall in Toronto a few years back. One of the best gigs I've ever been to.

Russia loves the Epstein files

Russia loves the Epstein files. The salacious scandal is more important than the truth. Vladimir Putin is a happy man right now.

But selling stock is much less fun for a private equity guy than firing everybody that works for the company. Why go to all the trouble?

Russia Now Loses as Many Troops in One Month in Ukraine as the USSR Did in 10 Years in Afghanistan Russia now loses as many, if not more, troops in a month in Ukraine than it did in 10 years in Afghanistan, with no protests at home.

Russia loses as many soldiers in a month as it did in 10 years in Afghanistan.

Yet still, silence. A deeply broken society.

International law meant to limit effects of war at breaking point, study finds Report covering 23 conflicts over last 18 months concludes more than 100,000 civilians have been killed as war crimes rage out of control

More than 100,000 civilians have been killed in wars over the past 18 months. Brutal, genocidal war is returning to the world. Turns out the liberal world order wasn't so terrible.

It's not just a physical toll, it's a psychological one. I stayed in my apartment for 40 hours where it was -15. I didn't have electricity or water, you cannot flush the toilet, you cannot take a shower, you cannot make warm food. Everything is dark outside so it feels like the end of the world when you look out your window. You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad.

"You have to put a lot of effort into not going mad." - @rolandoliphant.bsky.social relaying a message from his friend in Kyiv

Epstein's sex empire was 'KGB honeytrap' The release of more than three million new documents relating to the late sex offender gives credence to claims made by senior security officials: that Epstein was working on behalf of Moscow.

The rich and powerful are vain, gullible idiots, but let’s get the immigrants

The death penalty for being a bit shouty.

Near the front line, Russians are growing tired of war A report from Belgorod, where not all residents see Ukrainians as enemies

Belgorod. 'In a reader survey conducted in January by Fonar, a local news publication, a quarter of respondents felt “devastated and disappointed” ... Only 6% said they gave aid to participants in Russia’s “special military operation”.' www.economist.com/europe/2026/...