Immer wieder behaupten Ossis, die gegen jede Ratio Putin verehren, man hätte ihnen die russische Kultur nicht übergestülpt. Die haben sie ihnen am 17. 6. 53 nicht nur übergestülpt, sondern eingeprügelt und eingehämmert. Später, liessen sie sich die Kultur dann zart einhauchen

Important response by two scholars in major British media to Umland-led Stalinist-style denunciation of my book "The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins": link.springer.com/book/10.10… "Colleagues should not be cancelled for examining ‘enemy perspectives’. Academic debates should embrace political neutrality, professional judgement and the plurality of possible interpretations. The campaign against Ivan Katchanovski does not, say Dmitry Dubrovskiy and Matthew Blackburn. In the Soviet Union, collective letters of denunciation appeared in the pages of Pravda to expose the “incorrect” positioning and “political short-sightedness” of errant public figures. Meanwhile, in supposed defence of Europe against Russian aggression, a “collective warning” letter was published in the Ukrainian newspaper Ukrainska Pravda in April about an academic book. That book is The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins, written by Ivan Katchanovski, a Ukrainian-born political scientist at the University of Ottawa with an established record of peer-reviewed work on the conflict. Everything else – interpretation, debate and even serious deviation from the mainstream – belongs to the author’s academic freedom. However, the Ukrainska Pravda letter in effect marks Katchanovski publicly as a politically dangerous author and calls for his exclusion from academic spaces. In addition, it largely ignores the fact that Katchanovski has a sustained research agenda on the topic and has faced sustained pressure because of it – including, he claims, the state seizure of his property in western Ukraine in 2015. Nor is he the only Ukrainian scholar to face persecution and marginalisation in Ukraine in a context of deteriorating academic freedom since 2014. It is also important to recall that, according to Katchanovski, the book was initially contracted with Routledge and passed peer review, only for the editor to demand – presumably because of external pressure – that Katchanovski rewrite the book to include “alternative” perspectives. Katchanovski called this a violation of his academic freedom. He cancelled the deal with Routledge and signed a new contract with Palgrave Macmillan – for which he decided to raise the funds for open access from scratch. His subsequent successful crowdfunding, which received significant visibility on Elon Musk’s X, is no basis for further accusations of his political toxicity. His opponents, however, insist that the dark forces of American “techno-authoritarianism” are behind the book’s social media visibility and impressive metrics. Above all, the Pravda letter’s function is to directly prescribe how the war must be interpreted: exclusively as the “latest variation of centuries-old Russian expansionism, pan-nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism”. In other words, the authors establish a regime of truth. Such a move is understandable in political debate, but it is deeply problematic in academic discussion. Such a move deters scholars from examining “enemy perspectives” and delegitimises alternative interpretations. It is not clear why claiming that actors in Ukraine and the West had a role in escalating or prolonging the conflict should be taboo in eastern European studies. It is no more controversial than saying Austria-Hungary or Serbian nationalists played a role in starting the First World War, even if Germany was the primary driver. If these tendencies continue unchecked, universities are in serious trouble. If we are unable to have debates exclusively on principles of political neutrality, professional judgement and the plurality of possible interpretations, then what is the purpose of academia?... Dmitry Dubrovskiy is a member of the Institute of International Studies at Charles University, Prague. Matthew Blackburn is a senior researcher in the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs’ research group for eastern Europe and Asia." timeshighereducation.com/opi…

Nochmal 90 Mrd. Euro: Außenminister Wadephul lässt die Katze aus dem Sack: "Die Ukraine braucht mehr Geld" Dabei können sich die meisten Staaten nicht einmal die eigene Aufrüstung leisten... lostineu.eu/wadephul-laesst-… #nato

Gratulation an Tiefseeforscherin Antje Boetius, Theologe Christoph Markschies und Liedermacher Wolf Biermann zur Aufnahme in den Orden Pour le mérite! Es ist die höchste Auszeichnung für Wissenschaftler und Künstler in Deutschland. kulturstaatsminister.de/pres…

КИЕВ МИХАИЛА БУЛГАКОВА Wenn im Stadtbild Kiews die Erinnerung an Bulgakow, Achmatowa und Glinka von den jetzigen Stadtpolitikern ausgemerzt sein wird, dann wird manch älterer Ukrainer einen Bildband aus Jahr 1990 über Bulgakows Kiew aus seinem Regal ziehen und darin blättern...