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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon

@ksvarnon.bsky.social
2.9K followers 220 following 177 posts

Ph.D. | Historian of Russia, Ukraine, the USSR, and East Germany. Assistant Professor at Morehouse College. Writer and Foreign Policy Commentator with Regional Expertise. Texan.

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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 18h
US strikes a deal to import Russian diesel, and the US essentially calls for regime change in Ukraine. I wish I were surprised, but I'm not. I've been saying this since Nov. 2024: Ukraine and the rest of Europe cannot count on the US as an ally or as a rational actor. Putin has counted on this.
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Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“Y’all are going to need a bigger hospital.” Already burdened by petrochemical plants, Louisiana is facing a wave of gas-powered AI data centers—and their pollution. Dorothy Slater, an oncology nurse, writes for @dissentmag.bsky.social about nursing her patients at the frontier of AI buildout.
dissentmagazine.org
Death by Data Centers - Dissent Magazine
I’m an oncology nurse in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. My patients and I breathe the same polluted air, and we can’t afford the toxic exposure from the gas-fired plants set to power the state’s proposed A...
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I successfully defended my dissertation on Friday! Feels unreal. I'm so grateful for the incredible support I've had along the way. I'm a first-gen college student & Pell Grant recipient from rural Southeast Texas. Without Swarthmore, I never would have dreamed I could do this. I'm a Dr.!
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Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism. Some thoughts from my new piece: 🧵
steady.page
A Far-Right International Is Assaulting Democracy
MAGA and the AfD are united in a struggle against democratic pluralism that transcends national borders. It is an alliance of extremists defined by aggrieved revanchism
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
It has often felt like I got tossed in a blender over the last few months: moving, finishing my dissertation, course prepping, my defense next week, and *fascism*. HOWEVER, experiencing my first Morehouse Convocation today was wonderful. I cried. The energy, the community, the feeling. I'm lucky.
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Tom Joscelyn @tomjoscelyn.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is yet another telling example of the Trump regime’s racism. There’s no pretense here of targeting criminals - the usual excuse for mass deportations. DHS is specifically encouraging Haitian “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave. Any decent society would value these people.
DHS encourages “doctors, lawyers, scholars and engineers” to leave with some sort of $3,000 payout, its naked racism.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
AMEN.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I'm crowdsourcing suggestions. I'm a brand-new tenure-track professor at an SLAC and want to know how y'all are managing teaching, research, grading, reading in the field, and living. ALL OF IT. I've taught HS and CC full-time, but the research expectations, etc., on top of teaching are new.
static.klipy.com
Help Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for Help
ALT: Help Me Mug: Woman's Funny Cry for Help
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I defend my dissertation in two weeks and will embargo it. I always planned to, as it is an important way to protect your work as you revise for publication. Plus, it is not like the group harping on this will consider me a legit academic anyway b/c I'm Black/a woman/an Ivy Leaguer. I'm tired.
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Kathleen @kathleencarson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I just want to point out, this guy is still a full professor at Duke, despite multiple accusations of research fraud over the last 5 years, resulting in retractions of publications. His research topic: honesty and procrastination. And he was Epstein's friend and in the Epstein files >600 times.
dukechronicle.com
‘Insane data’: Duke professor Dan Ariely accused of additional research fraud
New evidence released Monday shows that Dan Ariely, professor of business administration in the Fuqua School of Business, likely tampered with or fabricated data in an influential research paper from ...
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Amy Stanley @astanley711.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
What is the point of trying so hard to maintain your academic freedom if you’re going to abandon the entire educational enterprise, sacrifice the undergrads to the tech companies, and then light your reputation on fire?
thecrimson.com
Harvard Humanities Faculty Push Back on Deming’s Call for AI Use in Writing Courses | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard faculty in the humanities and social sciences expressed broad concern over an email Harvard College Dean David J. Deming sent students Wednesday suggesting that artificial intelligence be inte...
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Mar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
They’ll keep telling us it’s inevitable but NYC and other large school systems are starting to say no to AI, recognizing it’s not a legitimate tool for k-12 learning. Even some universities are putting their foot down, like U Chicago (and some law schools) www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
nyc.gov
Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation’s Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Important to note that the University of Texas-Austin is also planning major cuts of at least 100 courses. Our (I'm a Texan) flagship universities are being gutted, and it is being sold to the gen. public as a way to earn a degree faster.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Pastor Carl Ruby, of Springfield's Central Christian Church, can state the issue more clearly than 98% of people working in politics today.
"I wish President Trump could hear the mom's wails. The

family wants people to know that this was a suicide and they

want people to know that President Trump, (Stephen) Miller, and Markwayne Mullin's inhumane immigration policies made this happen," Ruby wrote.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I'm a born-and-bred Southeast Texan. Y'all is my birthright, so Mr. Man can go whine to somebody else.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This is some beautiful prose.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Now write the tandem piece about what is happening to public university funding & immigration policy in Canada, the UK, Germany, etc. These high-profile hirings are good headlines. The real story is no other country is coming to save higher ed & scientific research right now, including Canada.
ft.com
Canada poaches 48 US-based top academics
Trump administration’s assault on universities boosts Ottawa’s efforts to attract top research talent
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Volgograd to Stalingrad, then back to Volgograd. I've seen this movie before, but I was told it only happened in COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS. Sigh. (re: Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico).
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
In the last two days I have been teaching, I have found out that one of my heroes has died right after class. I CANNOT.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Tim Curry and Dolly Parton ON THE SAME DAY. That's enough! I need Patti LaBelle on 24/7 security.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I'm crying. Dolly changed the lives of millions of children and families. Beyond her music career (which also shaped the lives of millions), she helped to bring the gift and opportunities of literacy. True righteousness. THIS SUCKS.
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Alex Zalben @azalben.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton, among a thousand other amazing things she did in her life, gifted over 330 million books to kids through her Imagination Library program. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the world, but you can support the program today to keep it going imaginationlibrary.com
imaginationlibrary.com
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library | USA, UK, IE, CA, AU
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth until they begin school in participating areas.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly. Not Dolly. This hurts. She was an amazing example of how to be a good person and use money and fame for good. What a beautiful life she led.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I've just been over here yelling from the rooftops about how the imagined white 'purity' of Russia has been a problem for years now...
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 19/08/2026
Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
Racism and labor at Bates: the other side of the story
Andrew Baker responds to Tyler Austin Harper
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Pack and listed my house, moved to GA, tons of issues & delays w/the movers, slept on an air mattress for 2 weeks, plumbing issues & basement flooding in my rental, all while finishing my dissertation & course prepping. What may break me is my bibliography b/c I did all my citations by hand...
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
You rule! Thank you!
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Dwight Schrute: It's True
ALT: Dwight Schrute: It's True
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I know nothing about soccer rules, but I do know that Spain showed a lot more restraint than they should have. Pardon my English, but Spain should have been handing out ass whippings to Argentina after that mess.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Claire, as a cradle Catholic, thank you for your updates. Giving me life!
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Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 02/07/2026
The fact that this article from Associated Press in NPR doesn't mention that the original Lefebvrist tendency has had consistent decades long links to nazis and spreading antisemitic ideology really underplays what's gone on here.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Show trials. I don't know if most Americans realize how much work is needed to restore our institutions, investigate and punish the criminals, & restore trust in our institutions. Look at how people view the state and public institutions in former Soviet regions. A Dem Admin in 2028 isn't enough.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
So, remember how I asked whether Vance was a real Catholic, given that he knows nothing about the faith and didn't attend Catechism? Guess who he supports? THE SCHISMATICS. Also, good on Pope Leo for taking out the trash. They appointed fake bishops!!
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The GDR changed the law in 1972 to allow for East German women to seek abortions on demand (in the first trimester).
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Reading about East German women applying for abortions to all-male panels, having to prove their circumstances, and how many were rejected despite the hardships pregnancy represented. I can see TX leaders doing this, though they yell that they hate socialism. It's about patriarchy and control.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Now, from what I understand, Vance never attended any adult Catholic catechism classes. So, how is he a Catholic? What does he know about the faith? What do I know? I just grew up Catholic: First Communion, Altar Server, Confirmation...wanted to be a nun until middle school.
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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I am stunned that the constitutional question was so close. I thought it would be 6–3 or 7–2. It is profoundly disturbing that four justices would allow either the president or Congress to rewrite the plain text of the 14th Amendment. This is obviously a good outcome, but the margin is alarming.
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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 29/06/2026
Elon Musk doesn't believe gutting USAID caused any deaths. He claims his DOGE team was unable to find kids the agency was helping. Well, here are some specific people he could talk to: parents whose kids are now dead, and kids who are now orphaned, thanks to him. www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-the-cu...
thebulwark.com
Yes, the Cuts to USAID Have Killed
Elon Musk dismisses the human toll of the Trump administration’s gutting U.S. foreign aid—but it’s real and it’s measurable.
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Jean Beaman @jean23bean.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Belated appreciation for another great @ces-europe.bsky.social conference! I organized two panels on Race and Racism in Europe/European studies @camillahawth.bsky.social @ksvarnon.bsky.social @chelsiwo.bsky.social @elisajoywhite.bsky.social Laura Westerveen and Taryn Marcelino
panel photo
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Now, y'all told me that this level of party-state capture and control only happened in *Eastern European COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIPS*. Because, let this Soviet historian tell you, we've arrived, and there isn't any communism around here.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I am seeing the news coverage of Belfast, and I am reminded of the Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots in East Germany in the early 1990s. The precipitating event is different, but the destruction and racial targeting are not. Terrifying. www.dw.com/en/germany-r...
dw.com
Germany remembers 1992 anti-immigrant riots in Rostock
The Lichtenhagen district in Rostock became infamous in 1992 as the scene of a racist riot against the Vietnamese and Roma communities. Some Vietnamese survivors feel even more bitter now about the la...
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
He is simply propagating the same lies that Russia promoted for over a decade. Ted Cruz fell for the same when he posted about how "un-woke" Russia's army was. Russia is depending on national minorities, misled foreigners from the Global South, and men who didn't have bribe money to avoid the front.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Completely shocked and devastated. I've been following Dr. Pacheco-Vega since before I started graduate school. His posts on writing, productivity, and working to enjoy what we do as academics have kept me afloat. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Oh my goodness. I can't believe it! I've been following him for years. This is devastating.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Some of the most openly vile extremists are running against and beating the most devout Maga-ists in the TX GOP runoffs. The ads this cycle have been horrifying. The results are horrifying.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
I'm not lying about his sweetheart plea deal for a predator: www.texastribune.org/2026/05/19/k...
texastribune.org
Inside Ken Paxton’s plea deal for a child sex abuse case
Critics are pointing to two other serious felony cases that the attorney general’s prosecutors took to trial that ended in mistrials and, eventually, plea deals.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Idk if natl politics watchers know about Paxton like Texans do, but the man is vile. The impeachment (by the TX GOP), the affairs (and hooking the ladies up w/state $), and the latest scandal of helping a child abuser avoid serious time/no name on the offender registry. They still voted for him.
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Saw the same ad while at the dentist's office last week, and every time I go to the gym. Roy is a fool, but Middleton makes him look like a Rhodes Scholar. This is not good for Texas (thank goodness it is just the GOP runoff...)
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Just feels appropriate to listen to Stankonia while drafting this last dissertation chapter...since I'm moving to the birthplace of two of my all-time favorite music groups: Outkast and Mastodon. (I contain multitudes, thank you).
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Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon @ksvarnon.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Something I've been working on since 2020 (and will get back to it once my dissertation is complete) is Russia's inversion of Soviet internationalism to court far-right and white supremacist groups from the US and Western Europe.
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