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Uilleam Blacker

@uilleamblacker.bsky.social
3.4K followers 344 following 106 posts

I write about Ukraine and eastern Europe, literature and culture, memory and cities. I translate Ukrainian literature. I'm from Scotland.

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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Come and hear the excellent Dr Leah Batstone discuss Ukrainian musical modernism next Tuesday @uclssees.bsky.social. Free registration here www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
ucl.ac.uk
Peripheral Solidarities: Ukrainian Musical Modernism Beyond Ukraine
A Rethinking Eastern Europe and Eurasia seminar with Dr Leah Batstone
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UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies @uclssees.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
🎼 What impact did Ukrainian composers have on American modernism? Join us for a conversation with Dr Leah Batstone to hear more about Ukrainian musical modernism. 🗓️ 26 May at 6pm BST 📍 UCL SSEES ➡️ www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit... @uilleamblacker.bsky.social @artshumsucl.bsky.social
Event poster for 'Peripheral Solidarities: Ukrainian Musical Modernism Beyond Ukraine' with a painting 'Green Squares' by Joseph Schillinger.
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
New episode of The Ukraine Shelf is out now! A great discussion with @lukeharding1968.bsky.social and Myroslav Laiuk on what it means to report on war. Don't miss it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3eT...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
This was such a great discussion! Writing beyond war with Myroslav Laiuk, Yulia Musakovska and Luke Harding, video now available: youtu.be/ztCVLF9lj2U?...
youtu.be
Writing (beyond) War: Ukraine in the World
YouTube video by Ukrainian Institute London
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Words Without Borders & WWB Campus @wwborders.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Happy #NationalPoetryMonth! Celebrate by reading “vesper” by Iryna Shuvalova (tr. from Ukrainian by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social ). This poem reflects on the way our bodies store hurt, and what it takes to heal. Read it here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
An image of a sunrise behind a field of trees, overlaid in white text it reads: from the archive: Poetry, vesper, By Iryna Shuvalova, translated from Ukrainian by Uilleam Blacker, “at an hour like this it is especially hard to till a stony field with rusty iron to sow tiny seeds of rage blindly into the dark earth to hope for a bitter harvest from bitter seeds”
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Tomorrow, still time to get tickets!
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Don't miss this chance to hear 3 brilliant writers discuss how they write about Ukraine in wartime! Join Yuliya Musakovska, Myroslav Laiuk & Luke Harding next Tuesday at UCL, details: www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit.... @uclssees.bsky.social @ukrinstitute.bsky.social @lukeharding1968.bsky.social
Portraits of Luke Harding, Yuliya Musakovska and Myroslav Laiuk
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European Literary London @europeanlitlondon.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
BIG news! We're delighted to announce the award-winning German-Georgian writer Nino Haratischwili as our 2026 Writer in Residence. Hosted by UCL European Institute with EUNIC London, Goethe Institute London & European Literature Network. www.ucl.ac.uk/european-ins...
ucl.ac.uk
Nino Haratischwili announced as 2026 Writer in Residence
The UCL European Institute is delighted to announce the award-winning German-Georgian writer as the UCL 2026 European Literary Map of London Writer in Residence.
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Come and hear two of Ukraine's best writers - Myroslav Laiuk and Yulia Musakovska - discuss writing about Ukraine with the brililant Luke Harding at UCL on 14 April. In partnership with @ukrinstitute.bsky.social. @uclssees.bsky.social @lukeharding1968.bsky.social www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanit...
ucl.ac.uk
Writing (beyond) War: Ukraine in the World
A SSEES Rethinking Eastern Europe and Eurasia event with Myroslav Laiuk, Yuliya Musakovska and Luke Harding, co-organised by the Ukrainian Institute London.
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Enchantra Sand📚🌻 @enchantrasand.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
📚💙 🖊️📚💙 Cassandra: A Dramatic Poem by Lesia Ukrainka with Marko Pavlyshyn (Introduction) and Nina Murray (Translator) 2024 by Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
Cassandra: A Dramatic Poem by Lesia Ukrainka with 
Marko Pavlyshyn (Introduction)  and Nina Murray
 (Translator)   2024 by Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
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Françoïs Guesnet @guesnet.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Join us for Sasha Senderovich's talk about Soviet literary narratives about the Holocaust Thursday, 26 February, 6 pm - in person, at University College London! www.tickettailor.com/events/uclin... Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies, UCL Institute for Jewish Studies
tickettailor.com
Select tickets – In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Translating Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union – UCL
In the Shadow of the Holocaust: Translating Jewish Writers from the Soviet Union – UCL, Thu 26 Feb 2026 - An in-person event at UCL The short fiction collected in In the Shadow of the Holocaust, trans...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I translated a letter from Lesia Ukrainka to Olha Kobylianska for my students, and since it's Lesia's birthday, here it is - with a short essay on why she matters right now. open.substack.com/pub/uilleamb...
open.substack.com
Speaking Truth in a Time of War: A translation of a letter by Lesia Ukrainka on her birthday.
Last year, the Harvard Library of Ukrainian Literature series published a brilliant new translation of Lesia Ukrainka’s play Cassandra by Nina Murray (which began life as part of a special translation...
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Read my new diary piece for @prospectmagazine.co.uk, and explore Ukrainian culture not only on the anniversary of ru's genocidal invasion. Explore it as a way of finding new answers to the questions that trouble us all today. Full text: www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/europe...
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Hilary Barth @hilarybarth.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Fortunate to hear writer Volodymyr Rafeyenko speak on “Language, Identity, and the Experience of Occupation” at Yale, moderated by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social . Rafeyenko’s new work: books.huri.harvard.edu/books/signal... Blacker’s latest piece: www.londonukrainianreview.org/posts/defens...
londonukrainianreview.org
Defensive Wall: Why Ukraine’s Culture Is Everyone’s Fight
To understand how to reinforce Ukraine’s security, we must examine the strategies being used to undermine it. Uilleam Blacker argues that culture is a crucial element of Russia’s aggression, and that ...
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Poets House @poetshouse.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
When war shatters daily life, poetry rises as testimony. Ukrainian poets speak in words that refuse silence, tracing the lines between loss and resilience, grief and human dignity. Presented in partnership with @razomforukraine.org and the Ukrainian Cultural Festival. RSVP to the event today!
poetshouse.org
Poet as Witness - Poets House
10/30: When war shatters daily life, poetry rises as testimony. Readings from Anna Malihon, Iryna Vikyrchak, Lesyk Panasiuk and their translators.
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Poets House @poetshouse.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Join us on 10/30, 7 PM ET for a hybrid reading from Anna Malihon, Irina Vikyrchak, Lesyk Panasiuk, and their translators Olena Jennings, Nina Murray, and @ilyakaminsky.bsky.social. Moderated by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social.
Poet As Witness
A Hybrid Reading from Ukrainian poets and their translatorsPhoto collage of Anna Malihon, Iryna Vikyrchak, Lesyk Panasiuk and their translators Olena Jennings, Nina Murray, and Ilya Kaminsky.
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Thrilled to be delivering (alongside @bohdananeborak.bsky.social) one of two keynotes at this conference on Ukrainian culture/society at University of Bergen. Details👇; youtube link for keynotes in the next message. Thanks @ingunnlu.bsky.social for organising! uni.oslomet.no/ukrainett/uk...
uni.oslomet.no
UKRAINETT+ Conference - The War and Beyond: Perspectives on Ukrainian culture and society (14 - 15 October) - UKRAINETT
The University of Bergen hosts the second Ukrainett+ conference 14 – 15 October 2025.  UKRAINETT+ aims to enhance Ukrainian-Norwegian research collaboration and advance Ukrainian studies in Norway, Uk...
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
‘Defensive Wall: Why Ukraine’s Culture Is Everyone’s Fight’ by Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social londonukrainianreview.org/posts/defens... 6/10
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RobinK @templeofhate.com · 08/10/2025
This interview with @peterpomerantsev.bsky.social is quite brilliant. »Olesya Khromeychuk spoke to Peter Pomerantsev about the subtleties of waging information warfare, the challenges of cultivating a world of truth and justice today, and creating the kind of space where democracy can be practised.«
londonukrainianreview.org
‘Defeat the Enemy and Liberate the Space’: Peter Pomerantsev on Propaganda and Civic Culture
How can Ukraine’s culture of resistance serve the country’s security? Olesya Khromeychuk spoke to Peter Pomerantsev about the subtleties of waging information warfare, the challenges of cultivating a ...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Don't miss the new London Ukrainian Review on Culture as Security! Articles on disinformation, western pro-russia bias, music & poetry at war, Crimea-Palestine, writers at the front, & my piece on why supporting Ukrainian culture can help beat russia. www.londonukrainianreview.org/posts/cultur...
londonukrainianreview.org
Culture as Security
This issue of the London Ukrainian Review takes a look at culture as a matter of national security. Highlighting the voices of cultural figures who defend Ukraine with arms, it also examines culture a...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Thrilled that my colleague Marta Jenkala has won the Hvylia/Dalga award for promoting Ukrainian language abroad from the state Ukrainian Institute. Marta taught Ukrainian at @uclssees.bsky.social and @camukrainistyka.bsky.social, and led @ukrinstitute.bsky.social. ui.org.ua/en/news-en/h...
ui.org.ua
Winners of the Hvylya / Dalğa Prize for the promotion of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages honored in Ukraine
Winners of the Hvylya / Dalğa Prize for the promotion of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages honored in Ukraine For the first time, the Ukrainian Institute recognized activists who have made sig...
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UCL European Institute @uclei.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
🎙️ Tune in to the latest episode of The Ukraine Shelf podcast where @oliahercules.bsky.social and Felicity Spector speak with @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and @okhromeychuk.bsky.social on all things food! ☁️ soundcloud.com/european-ins... 🎧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6HZ... #Europe #TheUkraineShelf
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Listen!
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
It was a joy to talk translation with Ali Kinsella, Mark Andryczyk & Oleh Kotsyuba at the launch of Taras Prokhasko's Earth Gods @huribooks.bsky.social last week! We talked botany, brain scans, geopolitics & mountain dialects👇. Happy International Translator Day! www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN7Y...
youtube.com
Kinsella, Andryczyk, Blacker — Earth Gods: Writings from before the War by Taras Prokhasko
YouTube video by Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI)
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
I spoke to the @telegraphnews.bsky.social Ukraine: The Latest podcast about Babyn Yar and Holocaust memory in Ukraine. Thank you @adeliepjz.bsky.social and the much-missed David Knowles for the invitation and for your excellent reporting from Kyiv in this episode. podcasts.apple.com/gr/podcast/g...
podcasts.apple.com
Gas shortages ‘finally’ hit Moscow as Kyiv intensifies strikes on refineries & David Knowles on the largest Nazi massacre in Ukraine
Podcast Episode · Ukraine: The Latest · 26/09/2025 · 55m
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Seth Graham @sethbgraham.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
I echo what my fellow russianist and colleague @sarahjyoung.bsky.social says, and fully support what @uilleamblacker.bsky.social calls for in his essay.
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Dr Sarah J Young @sarahjyoung.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Brilliant, thought-provoking essay by my colleague @uilleamblacker.bsky.social - as a russianist who fully accepts that I have contributed this problem, I’d welcome the sort of institutional change Uilleam argues for here, and am trying to work towards that. www.eurozine.com/russia-is-no...
eurozine.com
Russia is not the sea
Imperial Russia saw the nation as the sea into which all the other Slavic cultures flowed. The idea persists today not only in Russia's attitude towards its neighbourhood, but also in the way eastern ...
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Eduard Klein @edklein.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
@uilleamblacker.bsky.social: "Institutions that are built around the idea of ‘Russia and Eastern Europe’, or even Slavic Studies, are something akin to the fossil fuel industries. If we want to find a sustainable and ethical way forward, they are no longer tenable" www.eurozine.com/russia-is-no...
eurozine.com
Russia is not the sea
Imperial Russia saw the nation as the sea into which all the other Slavic cultures flowed. The idea persists today not only in Russia's attitude towards its neighbourhood, but also in way the region i...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
I wrote for Eurozine on the lingering imperial geographies that define our understandings of Ukraine and eastern Europe.
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Gwendal Piégais @gwendalpiegais.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
A podcast not to be missed by anyone who wants to understand #Ukraine. I've just devoured all 5 episodes. Thank you @okhromeychuk.bsky.social & @uilleamblacker.bsky.social for this crucial contribution. I particularly liked the fascinating episode on Crimea! www.olesyakhromeychuk.com/projects/the...
olesyakhromeychuk.com
Olesya Khromeychuk - The Ukraine Shelf
Ukraine is at the centre of world events today, and understanding the country’s politics, history and culture has never been more important. The Ukraine Shelf is a podcast where Uilleam Blacker and I...
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Looking for something uplifting today? The latest Ukraine Shelf episode explores food: how it nourishes, connects, and helps overcome trauma. @uilleamblacker.bsky.social and I chat with chef and activist @oliahercules.bsky.social, and journalist and volunteer Felicity Spector. 🎧 Link below.
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Watch the recording of our discussion on Odesa, identity, resistance & empire with @julianevans.bsky.social, Olha Sydorushkina, Oksana Dovgopolova, Ivan Kozlenko. Organised by @uclssees.bsky.social & @ukrinstitute.bsky.social, supported by @britishacademy.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb17...
youtube.com
Odesa: identity, resistance, and imperial legacy
YouTube video by Ukrainian Institute London
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
New Ukraine Shelf episode out now! @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and I spoke to @oliahercules.bsky.social and @felicityspector.bsky.social about Ukrainian food culture, how food sustains in wartime, the implications of the war for global food supplies and more. youtu.be/lwODG8kdTrM?...
youtu.be
The Ukraine Shelf Episode 5: Food with Olia Hercules and Felicity Spector
YouTube video by Ukrainian Institute London
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Very excited to be recording a special edition of The Ukraine Shelf at @edbookfest.bsky.social with my co-host @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and the brilliant Oksana Maksymchuk and Phillipe Sands! Ticketes here: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...
edbookfest.co.uk
Uilleam Blacker & Olesya Khromeychuk: The Ukraine Shelf
From Sun 10 Aug - As the war in Ukraine continues, The Ukraine Shelf podcast brings together leading authors, scholars, and journalists for lively and informed discussions about what we should be read...
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
Very excited to be recording a special edition of The Ukraine Shelf at @edbookfest.bsky.social with my co-host @okhromeychuk.bsky.social and the brilliant Oksana Maksymchuk and Phillipe Sands! Ticketes here: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...
edbookfest.co.uk
Uilleam Blacker & Olesya Khromeychuk: The Ukraine Shelf
From Sun 10 Aug - As the war in Ukraine continues, The Ukraine Shelf podcast brings together leading authors, scholars, and journalists for lively and informed discussions about what we should be read...
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Iryna Odrekhivska @odrekhivska.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Presented on a fantastic panel “Contact zones & Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Ukrainian Literature” chaired by @uilleamblacker.bsky.social & had the pleasure to run a panel series “Between Past & Future: The Ukrainian War as a Battle for Identity” @iceeess.bsky.social, hosted by @uclssees.bsky.social
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
My interview for The Ukrainians is now available in English. We talked postcolonialism, western cultural biases, translation, Ukrainian-Scottish parallels, and more. theukrainians.org/en/uilleam-b...
theukrainians.org
Uilleam Blacker: ‘My understanding of postcolonialism came through Ukrainian literature’
The translator and researcher on the most impactful stories in Ukrainian literature, the role of cultural diplomacy and the craft of translation
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Very much looking forward to being in conversation with Dame Melinda Simmons today at #iccees2025, hosted at @uclssees.bsky.social. We'll be talking Ukraine, Poland, the Russian threat, and more www.iccees2025.org/keynote-spea...
iccees2025.org
Keynote speakers – XI ICCEES World Congress
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
I had the pleasure of speaking at European Literature Night recently, in a discussion about the role of culture in resisting indifference. Here’s a clip of me reflecting on why culture is always political, but I’d highly recommend watching the full recording on YouTube: youtu.be/oK9QlhCKq24?.... 1/2
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
👀
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
My interview with @bohdananeborak.bsky.social for The Ukrainians is now free to access. We discussed overcoming colonial complexes, writing in marginalised languages, imagining place through literature, translation, war poetry and more. theukrainians.org/uilleam-blac...
theukrainians.org
Уям Блекер: «Що таке постколоніалізм, я зрозумів через українську літературу» – The Ukrainians
Перекладач і дослідник — про сильні сюжети української літератури, роль культурної дипломатії й те, як працювати з мовами
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Andreas Umland @umland.eurosky.social · 10/06/2025
Russia's logic accepted by many: 1. Tupolev bomber launches missile into Kyiv's main children hospital on 8 July 2024. 2. Ukraine destroys Tupolev bombers on 1 June 2025. 3. In retaliation, Russia bombs Odesa's main maternity hospital on 10 June. Legit tit for tat! All good.
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Olesya Khromeychuk @okhromeychuk.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Cultural diplomacy and public education aren’t luxuries — they’re matters of security. Help us turn curiosity into lasting engagement. Join @ukrinstitute.bsky.social's summer fundraiser: from soil to soul. Wed 25 June, 6:30 pm | Bishopsgate Institute. More info: www.tickettailor.com/events/ukrai...
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Savchenko Volodymyr @savchenkoua.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
💔 In Odesa, 2 people have already died, 9 people were injured! 🚑 A maternity hospital was hit. The administrative building of the emergency medical station was completely destroyed. Several ambulances were damaged.
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Viktoriia Grivina @brams884.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Sophia Cathedral, an XI century symbol of Ukraine was damaged by the Russian military attack last night. I remember the tragedy of Notre Dame fire as a tragedy of all the Europe. Sophia is of the same value to our shared history. Speak about Sophia today, mourn with us.
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Boris Dralyuk @bdralyuk.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
As @uilleamblacker.bsky.social writes at the end of his review, the lesson is universal.
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Uilleam Blacker @uilleamblacker.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
I have a special fondness for crime fiction that excels in the genre yet also rewards close reading with hidden depths. Andrey Kurkov's Kyiv novels, superbly handled by @bdralyuk.bsky.social, fall into that category. It was a joy to review them in @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
theatlantic.com
A Ukrainian Crime Caper That Undermines Expectations
Andrey Kurkov’s crime thrillers provide timely lessons for anyone living under an oppressive regime.
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Boris Dralyuk @bdralyuk.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Not ashamed to admit that @uilleamblacker.bsky.social’s @theatlantic.com essay on Andrey Kurkov’s Kyiv Mysteries, the third volume of which I am currently steeped in, moved me to tears. A rare privilege—for authors, translators, anyone—to be so well understood. www.theatlantic.com/books/archiv...
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Dr Sarah J Young @sarahjyoung.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Dzhemilev is a remarkable figure, who has been at the centre of opposition to Russian imperialism for decades. Good interview by @shaunwalker7.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
theguardian.com
‘Does he know anything?’: Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev on Trump’s plans to legitimise Russian annexation
Exiled Soviet-era dissident tells the Guardian that for the US to turn its back on the territory would be ‘shameful’
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Marek Kohn @marekkohn.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
This is compelling for many reasons, not least for its powerful insights into the relationship between #language choice and emotion.
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