russian colonialism 101.

what imperial occupation really means.

when russia occupies you, it is never just about territory or flags.

Oct 18 • maksym eristavi.

13

8

language is russia’s oldest colonial weapon.

A greeting in russian doubles the odds someone justifies the invasion — Moscow’s return on three centuries of russification.

Oct 10 • maksym eristavi.

31

16

the north asia russians hid from you.

the empire documented North Asia in exhaustive detail. It rarely understood its people. Ukrainians filled the gap.

Oct 4 • maksym eristavi.

18

9

September 2026

welcome to apocalypse baroque.

the book i have been waiting for the most this year.

Sep 26 • maksym eristavi.

30

2

21

how to control a country without crossing its border.

A Ukrainian journalist documented the prototype back in the 1990s. Moscow is still running it.

Sep 19 • maksym eristavi.

31

4

16

how tolstoy helped russia steal crimea.

five things the empire tried to bury, including its own colonial garbage in Alaska, but couldn’t.

Sep 12 • maksym eristavi.

14

10

stop being obsessed with putin’s brain.

It won’t unlock a way out of this war. Understanding russian imperial culture will.

Sep 5 • maksym eristavi.

19

6

August 2026

the empire of mass neurosis.

russia: because nothing says “civilisation” like chronic insecurity.

Aug 29 • maksym eristavi.

21

11

the czech warning we should all hear.

The values and playbooks of russian empire never changed — only its name did.

Aug 22 • maksym eristavi.

28

2

19

the jewishness of being a Ukrainian.

The hundred-year-old russian lie we are still fighting.

Aug 8 • maksym eristavi.

26

3

17

why russia is obsessed with burning Ukrainian books.

And why a Ukrainian book makes the empire terrified.

Aug 1 • maksym eristavi.

39

2

26

July 2026

russia was never "different".

This week's reads attack the Kremlin's myth that russia has never been imperial or colonial.

Jul 10 • maksym eristavi.

20

10