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Oleksandr Polianichev

@opolianichev.bsky.social
3.3K followers 454 following 73 posts

Historian of Tsarist Russia at Södertörn University, Stockholm | URIS Fellow at @unibas.ch | ‬Colonial and transimperial history | Ph.D. from @eui-eu.bsky.social‬

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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Breaking my long, long social media break to announce that, starting this year, I’m working on a new research project, The Tsar’s Men in the Tropics: The Russian Empire and International Colonialism in Equatorial Africa, 1895–1910, generously supported by Östersjöstiftelsen.
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David Motadel @davidmotadel.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
It’s finally done. Absolutely thrilled to have submitted THE SHAH'S GREAT TOUR – my global microhistory of the epic royal journeys of Persia's monarchs to Imperial Europe – for production. May it reshape our understanding of monarchy and the world order in the imperial age.
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First World War Studies @fwwsjournal.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Why did the Russian Army collapse in 1917? 🪆 Full article: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... In our latest issue, Konstantin Tarasov argues that the 1917 Russian soldier’s "rampage" was a quest for dignity, not just war fatigue. cc: @ktarasov.bsky.social
A barricade erected by revolutionaries in St Petersburg during the 1905 uprising. On 22 January, a procession of Russian workers and families was fired upon by troops guarding the Winter Palace as it was carrying a petition to the Tsar.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205024077
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
A British colonial official in India, one month before the 1857 uprising: “The manner in which India is governed by a few thousand English is very wonderful, but our impunity entirely depends on the want of combination among the natives. If they were to combine we all must come to a crash.”
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
A British colonial official in India, one month before the 1857 uprising: “The manner in which India is governed by a few thousand English is very wonderful, but our impunity entirely depends on the want of combination among the natives. If they were to combine we all must come to a crash.”
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Amazing — Britain now has tea plantations in Devon. Even more fascinating: one cultivar comes from Georgia. I’ve written about how British tea in India influenced Caucasus plantations in the 19th century. Now the flow goes the other way.
thetimes.com
Move over, Assam. British tea is blooming thanks to this couple
For centuries, Britain has been the world’s most devoted importer of tea. Now it is producing its own — Jo and Kathryn Harper in Dartmoor are among the pioneers
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
Comparing Ukraine to Ireland was common throughout the 19th century among both the Ukrainian intelligentsia and government officials. The former stressed the struggle for emancipation from the core imperial identity (British or all-Russian), the latter – the perceived inevitability of assimilation.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Saying Alaska was “part of Russia” is like saying India under the East India Company was “part of Britain.” A textbook overseas colony of the empire that, according to Putin, “never colonized anyone,” Alaska was the Russian imperial state’s most peculiar possession. 🧵
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Happy to share that over the next six months I’ll be researching and teaching on Ukraine and the Russian Empire at the University of Basel as the new URIS Fellow. Excited for the semester ahead!
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
PK Porthcurno. The most breathtaking location for an archive one could imagine.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Just back from UK archives with mind-blowing finds linking James Watt, Jeremy Bentham, Prince Potemkin, West Indies sugar plantations, and Russia’s first bid to acclimatize exotic plants in its colonial south. Couldn’t imagine a better starting point for my book manuscript.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Russia just labeled Yale an "undesirable organization." Under the Russian law, even attending one of its conferences could now land you in prison. meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io
Russia bans Yale University as ‘undesirable organization,’ citing Navalny’s attendance — Meduza
The Russian authorities have declared Yale University an “undesirable organization,” banning its activities on Russian territory
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Danny Postel @dannypostel.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Iranian dissidents—including former political prisoners—almost unanimously oppose military intervention, notwithstanding their deep animus toward the Islamic Republic. An in-depth report on this from 10 years ago is suddenly more relevant than ever. My 2015 piece 👇 inthesetimes.com/article/iran...
inthesetimes.com
Iranian Dissidents Explain Why They Support the Nuclear Deal
We know what politicians from the U.S. to Israel think about the Iran nuclear deal. How about asking some opponents of Iran's regime?
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Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
My first article for the @erc.europa.eu funded COLVET project has been published Open Access in @conteurohistory.bsky.social. It explores how the Greater War concept might facilitate better engagement with colonial experiences of conflict in the early 20th century www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Rethinking the Colonial in the Greater War | Contemporary European History | Cambridge Core
Rethinking the Colonial in the Greater War
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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
A fascinating essay on Ru colonialism in Asia and the Middle East with this important wrap-up: "The fundamental difference between Western European and Russian imperial histories lies in Russia’s systematic silencing and emphatic denial of its own colonial record." newlinesmag.com/essays/the-h...
newlinesmag.com
The History of Aggression in Asia That Moscow Wants to Erase
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing support the Kremlin’s war effort while it poses as anti-imperialist — but Iran, China, and Korea were once the prey of tsarist Russia
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
From now on, anyone taking part in the ASEEES @aseees.bsky.social conference is subject to criminal punishment in Russia. As I understand it, since participants pay a membership fee, they could face up to 5 years in prison for “funding an undesirable organization” (Article 284.1 of the Penal Code).
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
A fascinating one: Slavophile Ivan Aksakov, trying to prove that Ukrainians had no historical continuity with medieval Rus', supported his claim by arguing that the imperial term "Little Russia" wasn’t used by the people—who called their country "Ukraine."
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
In the late 1830s—some 80 years before the Bolsheviks allegedly "invented" Ukraine—Russian intelligentsia described Odessa as an imperial trade hub built to allow Ukraine to "sell off the surplus of its riches."
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
In the late 1830s—some 80 years before the Bolsheviks allegedly "invented" Ukraine—Russian intelligentsia described Odessa as an imperial trade hub built to allow Ukraine to "sell off the surplus of its riches."
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Istituto Storico Germanico | German Historical Institute Rome @dhiroma.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Why did so many men enjoy picking up a rifle and practising shooting in the German Empire between 1871 and 1914? 📖 Presentation of the book by @camilleriana.bsky.social: Una cultura delle armi (Carocci, 2024) 🗓 29.05. at 17.30 Casa della #Memoria e della Storia #Siscalt #bookrecommendations
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New Lines Magazine @newlinesmag.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Not since the final years of the Cold War has the Kremlin wielded the concept of colonialism as a tool of its foreign policy as aggressively as it does today. @opolianichev.bsky.social challenges this growing political mythology, for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
newlinesmag.com
The History of Aggression in Asia That Moscow Wants to Erase
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing support the Kremlin’s war effort while it poses as anti-imperialist — but Iran, China, and Korea were once the prey of tsarist Russia
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
In 1891, Nicholas II ended his trip to Japan with two lasting marks: a 9-cm scar on his head from an assassination attempt, and a dragon tattoo on his arm. It was with these traces on his body that he set his sights on expanding Russia’s colonial empire in East Asia: newlinesmag.com/essays/the-h...
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Ліна 🌻🇺🇦🍁 @castleton.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Really great piece on the history between Russia and their "new" allies in the Global South, and the through-lines of colonialism in their past and present relationships newlinesmag.com/essays/the-h...
newlinesmag.com
The History of Aggression in Asia That Moscow Wants to Erase
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing support the Kremlin’s war effort while it poses as anti-imperialist — but Iran, China, and Korea were once the prey of tsarist Russia
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Beijing are key backers of Russia’s war of expansion. But they share a deeper history: under the last tsar, Iran, China, and Korea themselves fell prey to its colonial appetite. My latest for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on Russia’s imperial record in the Global South.
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Danny Postel @dannypostel.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
An “anti-imperialist” empire? In an Orwellian inversion of history, “anti-colonialism” has become a hallmark not only of the Soviet Union but even of tsarist Russia. Historian @opolianichev.bsky.social sets the record straight in this @newlinesmag.bsky.social essay. newlinesmag.com/essays/the-h...
newlinesmag.com
The History of Aggression in Asia That Moscow Wants to Erase
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing support the Kremlin’s war effort while it poses as anti-imperialist — but Iran, China, and Korea were once the prey of tsarist Russia
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang, and Beijing are key backers of Russia’s war of expansion. But they share a deeper history: under the last tsar, Iran, China, and Korea themselves fell prey to its colonial appetite. My latest for @newlinesmag.bsky.social on Russia’s imperial record in the Global South.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
My comments on Russia's "anti-colonial" myth. “It is not taken for granted because Russia was truly ‘anti-imperialist’ in the past, but because it actively opposes the West in the present. Should the political climate shift, the skeletons in Russia’s closet will be just as easily brought to light.”
aljazeera.com
In South Africa, Russia’s ‘anti-colonial’ narrative sways public opinion
Sympathy towards wartime Russia has deep historical roots, back to the Cold War era and earlier.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Reading the news while going through the minutes of the US-mediated peace process between Russia and Japan in Portsmouth in 1905 feels oddly surreal.
bbc.com
Ukraine says it is ready to accept 30-day ceasefire, as US says 'ball now in Russia's court'
The US says it is immediately restoring intelligence sharing and
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Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Sunday Times.
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Theodora Dragostinova @theodorad.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
When I teach the Cold War, I do an exercise: I give my students a variety of primary sources and ask them, what was the point of no return? This episode will be on future syllabi, a prime example of a point of no return in the unraveling of America’s position in the global order.
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Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
I’ve spent my career studying imperialists bullying ‘weaker’ countries & leaders but it still didn’t prepare me for the sadness of witnessing an instance playing out, in public and in real time. apple.news/AAvyAG8eGSSK...
apple.news
Watch in full: Angry exchange between Trump and Zelensky at White House — BBC News
The US president accused the Ukrainian leader of being disrespectful in a tense meeting in the Oval Office.
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Eugene Finkel @efinkel.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
I am a pessimist by training but I am more optimistic about Ukraine now than I was this morning. Wish I could say this about the US. This was a horror show, but the trajectory was unsustainable and Trump, in his efforts to help Putin might have generated the pushback energy I haven't seen since 2022
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Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Since the 1950s, Summer Language Workshops at Indiana University have provided training in Russian, East European, and Central Asian languages. Generations have come to Bloomington to study Romanian, Polish, Kazakh, etc. Rubio just cancelled all of them languageworkshop.indiana.edu/summer-langu...
languageworkshop.indiana.edu
Title VIII: Funding: Summer Language Workshop: Language Workshop: Indiana University Bloomington
Title VIII Fellowships
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The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History @jich.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Hot off the press! See our latest article by Vincent Ho & Novem Tsz-Wing Ho on 'An Exhausted Colonial Botanist: Charles Ford and Hong Kong Botanical Gardens, 1871–1902', accessible freely here: doi.org/10.1080/0308...
doi.org
An Exhausted Colonial Botanist: Charles Ford and Hong Kong Botanical Gardens, 1871–1902
Through an analysis of government reports and correspondence preserved in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, this article explores the experiences of Charles Ford, the second superintendent of the H...
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Welcome to a brave new world.
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Mikko Toivanen @mtoiv.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Okay I swear I'll stop posting about the book soon, but here's a direct link to our intro 'Expansion alongside integration: a new history of imperial Europe', which lays out the historiographical and present-day socio-political stakes in detail: doi.org/10.5040/9781...
Cropped screenshot of the title page of our volume intro 'Expansion alongside integration: a new history of imperial Europe', by myself and Bernhard C. Schär.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
In Boston! Looking forward to seeing so many of you here at ASEEES 2024 in the next few days.
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Dónal Hassett @donalh.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
A quote from the former commander of the Algiers Division reproduced in the pro-reform newspaper L'Ikdam in September 1920: 'If we don't know how to definitively win over a race that asks only to evolve with us, it will evolve against us and tomorrow we will be confronted with another Ireland'
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
"Barbaric peoples will disappear; they will be annihilated, absorbed, or assimilated under the efforts of civilized nations. Among educated nations, once they rid themselves of the barbarians, armed struggle will inevitably be replaced by economic struggle." 1912. It didn't age well, did it?
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Thing is, the Russian expeditionary corps in Iran marching toward Mosul in 1917 is something even many WWI historians aren’t aware of. What’s even wilder is that the only photos of this campaign I’ve come across were taken by Australian radio operators in Mesopotamia.
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Agustín Cosovschi @cosovschi.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
I’m sharing this again. I’d like to make a donation and I’m sure others would too. Please share any information you got.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
"Barbaric peoples will disappear; they will be annihilated, absorbed, or assimilated under the efforts of civilized nations. Among educated nations, once they rid themselves of the barbarians, armed struggle will inevitably be replaced by economic struggle." 1912. It didn't age well, did it?
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Thing is, the Russian expeditionary corps in Iran marching toward Mosul in 1917 is something even many WWI historians aren’t aware of. What’s even wilder is that the only photos of this campaign I’ve come across were taken by Australian radio operators in Mesopotamia.
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Sam Hirst @samueljhirst.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Hello Bluesky, I am a historian based in Ankara. A few months ago, Oxford University Press published my first book, which explores the way that Russian and Turkish revolutionaries arrived at a statist partnership as they responded to post-WWI liberal internationalism.
Book cover of "Against the Liberal Order: The Soviet Union, Turkey, and Statist Internationalism, 1919-1939" (Oxford University Press, 2024).
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
A unique group photo of members of Russia's expeditionary corps in Persia, taken by Australian wireless signalers in Qasr-e Shirin (near the modern Iraq border) in May 1917, after the Russian Empire was no more. From the Australian War Memorial collections.
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University of Pittsburgh Press @upittpress.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Cover Reveal! We’re thrilled to announce the forthcoming publication of Imperial Weather: Meteorology, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya by Fiona Williamson. Imperial Weather joins our Intersections series on 2/18/25. Details and preorders here: upittpress.org/books/978082...
Book cover for Imperial Weather featuring hand-drawn artwork of a sandy beach with four tall ships in the distance. It is raining.
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Michael Röllinghoff @roellinghoff.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
I’m thrilled to have a chapter in this gem of a book! I write about the ongoing history of the theft and study of human remains, focusing on (what was when I wrote it) the newly-opened National Ainu Museum. The chapter doubles as a media critique. It’s available online here: doi.org/10.5040/9781...
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Professor Andrekos Varnava, FRHistS, FRSA, FAHA (Ανδρίκκος) @andrekosvarnava.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
Recently I was appointed the Editor-in-Chief of 'The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History' @jich.bsky.social with a great team, @yiannicart.bsky.social @jonasgjerso.bsky.social and @evansmithhist.bsky.social Looking forward to receiving your submissions!
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
The real *long* long 19th century stretches into 2024.
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Oleksandr Polianichev @opolianichev.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Feels like a rare find: a travel account describing prostitution in Samarkand, published in a military journal in 1912. The author claims that brothels were legalized after the Russian conquest. @siobhanhearne.bsky.social, thought you might be interested!
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