Silicon Curtain

Perhaps the most perverse Russian invasion narrative, is that Ukraine is not old, and is not distinct from Russia in any case. But Ukraine is not just a footnote to Russian imperial history. As a nation, it is old, different, and diverse. Just as it went unrecognised by Russia, it has not been understood or recognised by the outside world either, for a variety of reasons. 100 years ago, nobody cared about Ukraine – or its disappearance as an independent state; but that has now changed. Putin’s tyranny and violence have accelerated the evolution of Ukrainian identity and increased the pressure for social, political, and economic change. ---------- SPEAKER: Volodymyr Yermolenko (Володимир Анатолійович Єрмоленко) is a Ukrainian philosopher, essayist, translator, Doctor of Political Studies, candidate of philosophical sciences, and senior lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He is laureate of the Yuri Shevelyov Prize (2018) and of the Petro Mohyla Award (2021). Yermolenko was born Kyiv to a family of philosophers. His father, Anatoly Mykolayovych Yermolenko, was director of the Institute of Philosophy. His mother taught philosophy at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. In 2020, together with Tetyana Oharkova, Yermolenko started the Kult podcast, dedicated to defining epochs in the history of culture and cult authors who had a great influence on the development of literature and culture. Is also a prolific podcaster on the Ukraine World channel, with his compelling ‘Explaining Ukraine’ series of interviews. Links below. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/yermolenko_v https://www.linkedin.com/in/volodymyr-yermolenko-bb0b0b11/ https://twitter.com/ukraine_world https://twitter.com/PENUkraine https://twitter.com/InternewsUA ---------- BOOKS: Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals by Volodymyr Yermolenko (Editor) ----------

Even for avid supporters of Ukraine, like me, Ukrainian literature remains and undiscovered country. Today I’m speaking with Maria Shuvalova who can guide on a journey of discovery, to engage with Ukrainian culture and identity. Ukrainian literature has a strong tradition of folk tales and oral poetry, and it has been influenced by the country's complex political and cultural history, including periods of colonization and national struggle. Russian literature, on the other hand, has been shaped by its own distinct history, including periods of imperial expansion and revolutionary upheaval. Ukrainian writers were persecuted in the 1920s during the period of Soviet rule in Ukraine, as part of a process to suppress Ukrainian national identity and culture and replace it with a new Soviet identity; literature was a key tool for this, as it is also for Russia today. Maria Shuvalova is a Doctoral Candidate at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. In 2019-2020 she was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University in New York. Her major fields of specialization are comparative literature and contemporary Ukrainian Literature, and minor fields are Identity and Memory Studies and Translation. She is also prominent in the media on topics of Ukrainian culture, and talks eloquently about Russian cultural colonialism, and the efforts to decolonise literature and Ukrainian studies. ~~~~~ LINKS: Mariia Shuvalova, First Go Novels That Go Tanks in Russia’s War in Ukraine 2022 Personal Experiences of Ukrainian Scholars https://cup.columbia.edu/book/russias-war-in-ukraine-2022/9783838217574 An Excerpt From Sergei Loiko’s ‘Airport’ https://odessareview.com/excerpt-sergei-loikos-airport/ Apricots of Donbas by Liuba Yakymchuk https://www.amazon.com/Apricots-Donbass-Lyuba-Yakimchuk/dp/1736432311/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1A8HTVDMQH4XO&keywords=Apricots+of+Donbas+by+Liuba+Yakymchuk&qid=1683536071&sprefix=apricots+of+donbas+by+liuba+yakymchuk%2Caps%2C322&sr=8-1   Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine https://www.amazon.com/Words-War-Ukraine-Ukrainian-Studies/dp/1618118617/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZRP62YKTVQ29&keywords=Words+for+War%3A+New+Poems+from+Ukraine&qid=1683536107&sprefix=words+for+war+new+poems+from+ukraine+%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1   Absolute Zero by Artem Chekh https://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Zero-Artem-Chekh-ebook/dp/B09QGZ36SY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=A49GLG6F22FM&keywords=Absolute+Zero&qid=1683536153&s=digital-text&sprefix=absolute+zero+%2Cdigital-text%2C515&sr=1-4   In Isolation by Stanislav Aseyev https://www.amazon.com/Isolation-Dispatches-Occupied-Ukrainian-literature-ebook/dp/B09VCQD5YJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CUL2D5GG2NFT&keywords=In+Isolation+by+Stanislav+Aseyev&qid=1683536217&s=digital-text&sprefix=in+isolation+by+stanislav+aseyev%2Cdigital-text%2C178&sr=1-1   Daughter by Tamara Duda https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Tamara-Duda-ebook/dp/B0BNKFBKDZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DIHSHF97CKEZ&keywords=Daughter+Tamara+duda&qid=1683536250&s=digital-text&sprefix=daughter+tamara+duda%2Cdigital-text%2C179&sr=1-1   The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister by Olesya Khromeychuk https://www.olesyakhromeychuk.com/publications/the-death-of-a-soldier-told-by-his-sister   Dignitas foundation - https://www.linkedin.com/company/dignitas-ukraine/ ~~~~~

NATO members and other western countries have stepped up the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The UK pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, the US 31 Abrams tanks, and Germany dispatched 14 Leopard 2 tanks, with more to follow. Other countries are sending anti-tank and anti-air systems, artillery pieces, drones, armoured vehicles, and tanks. Modern, sophisticated weapons are key to the success of Ukraine’s spring counter-offensive, but all this different equipment made in many countries brings challenges. Ukrainian troops need to learn to operate the new equipment and need supplies and replacement parts. To try to overcome the identification challenge, the US has issued Ukrainians with a deck of 52 playing cards of various pieces of hardware to help minimise “friendly fire” incidents. ---------- SPEAKER: Today I’m speaking with Ryan McBeth, influential YouTuber, Author, triathlete, Army veteran and programmer. Ryan makes educational and OSINT videos, that look at the war in Ukraine from a military perspective. Today we’ll be talking about the two side’s strategies in the war, tactics, equipment, morale, and training. ---------- LINKS: https://www.youtube.com/@RyanMcBethProgramming https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-us-issues-nato-weapons-playing-cards-to-help-ukraine-avoid-friendly-fire-202912 ----------

There are many strong voices supporting Ukraine, and many Ukrainians that are active in supporting and promoting it’s cause throughout the west. Few are more vocal and effective than Yana Rudenko, and few followed with more enthusiasm and affection. She has a strong voice on platforms like LinkedIn, and despite repeatedly being banned, she bounces back, to fight the good fight. ~~~~~ LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yana-rudenko/ ~~~~~

Until February 2022, the war in Ukraine could be dismissed by some as a “quarrel in a faraway country, between people of whom we know nothing”, especially if they had been influenced by aggressive Russian propaganda and the techniques of hybrid information warfare. But in 2022 the war became full scale, and the propagandistic subterfuge was far less effective. The hot war may be in full swing, but that has not diminished the intensity of the information war. The public in the West may not consider itself at war with Russia, but the ongoing assault of the digital authoritarians on our institutions, systems and media tells a different story. Today we examine why companies can’t ignore their responsibility to help make societies and democratic institutions more resilient against the malign influence of ill-intentioned actors. ~~~~~ Olga Solovyeva is a social researcher with experience in higher education, business, and civil society organisations. Her areas of expertise areas include communication, technology, and society. She works on issues of data ethics, IT business regulation, and the relationship between the state and tech in Russia and writes on these topics for academic, professional, and general audiences. ~|~|~|~|~ Links: https://globalvoices.org/2023/04/19/why-tech-companies-can-no-longer-ignore-their-role-in-shaping-politics-and-society/ https://blogs.helsinki.fi/russianmedialab/2023/02/24/digital-authoritarianism-and-it-business-in-russia-online-talk-on-russian-media-in-march/?fbclid=IwAR3InY7bLXK_1hBjio2hpDbE4HIWy_lm1YriXxT47wDcPAm1kxt7vvi_y2o https://advox.globalvoices.org/2022/07/06/disinformation-2-0-should-we-bring-the-notion-of-propaganda-back-into-public-discourse/ https://globalvoices.org/2022/03/25/keeping-fakes-under-control-how-legislation-on-disinformation-turns-into-a-censorship-tool/ ~~~~~

Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, before the invasion of Crimea in 2014, before the Bolotnaya protests of 2012, Russia was living through so-called ‘vegetarian’ times. But the regime has turned distinctly carnivorous in 2023, and that process ratcheted up by degrees after massive protests gripped the streets in 2012. Independent news organisations like TV Rain, Echo Moscow, Meduza and Novaya Gazeta were marginalised but not outright banned. Participants in those media projects were monitored and harassed, but not arrested and exiled. Public protest was punished, but sentences could be counted in days and months, not years or decades. The opposition led by Navalny could even field candidates in local elections. Now the state is red in tooth and claw once more. Oppositionists face a terrible dilemma – Save your skin and fight on or try to maintain your honour and be buried in the prison system, from which you may never emerge. ~~~~~ Owen Matthews is a British writer, historian, and journalist. His first book, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award and the Orwell Prize for political writing. He is a former Moscow and Istanbul Bureau Chief for Newsweek. Owen is half-Russian, speaks the language to a native level and studied Modern History at Christ Church, Oxford. From 2006 to 2012 he was Newsweek's Moscow Bureau Chief and is now a Contributing Editor at the magazine. In 2014 he reported for Newsweek on the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, and this year wrote one of the first substantial books on the 2022 full-scale war: Overreach: Inside Story of Putin's War Against Ukraine. ~~~~~ LINKS: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-terrible-choice-facing-russias-opposition-stay-or-go/ https://twitter.com/owenmatth https://www.linkedin.com/in/owenbmatthews/ ~~~~~

Edition No7 | 17-03-2023 Opposition Divisions - the Challenges Facing Alexei Navalny and the Russian Opposition ~~~~~ FEATURED ARTICLES: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/20/navalny-sets-out-15-point-plan-for-russias-postwar-development-a80276 Navalny Sets Out 15-Point Plan for Russia's Postwar Development Updated: Feb. 20, 2023 ~~~~~ NEWS LINKS: The Moscow Times From Gershkovich to Gadzhiev: 9 Journalists Jailed in Russia https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/22/from-gershkovich-to-gadzhiev-9-journalists-jailed-in-russia-a80883 By Leyla Latypova 22nd April 2023 Russia Begins Issuing Digital Military Summons – Reports https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/21/russia-begins-issuing-digital-military-summons-reports-a80902 By Leyla Latypova April 21, 2023 Kremlin Pushed for Pro-Russia Coalition in Germany – WP https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/21/kremlin-pushed-for-pro-russia-coalition-in-germany-wp-a80899 April 21, 2023 Russia Replaces Baltic, Pacific Fleet Commanders https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/21/russia-replaces-baltic-pacific-fleet-commanders-a80905 April 21, 2023 ‘Freedom Сannot Be Shut Down’: Defiance as Russia’s Sakharov Center Holds Last Public Event https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/17/freedom-annot-be-shut-down-defiance-as-russias-sakharov-center-holds-last-public-event-a80854 April 17, 2023 ‘I Had Just Weeks or Even Days’: Lawyer of Jailed Kremlin Critic Kara-Murza Flees Russia https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/21/i-had-just-weeks-or-even-days-lawyer-of-jailed-kremlin-critic-kara-murza-flees-russia-a80901 Updated: April 21, 2023 ~~~~~

Russian Disinformation is relentless. Like floodwaters it envelops all low-lying and unprotected things and when it recedes, leaves them coated with a filthy, foul-smelling taint. We are all of us vulnerable. Russian disinformation continues to be a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty and unity, though is perhaps not as effective as it was in the years 2014-2022. Nonetheless new narratives are created and propagated continuously to try and divide, confuse, and delay the allies supporting Ukraine, and to erode support for Ukraine’s cause around the world. Aggressive information warfare still threatens information security and social stability, especially in states which Russia seeks to destabilise, confuse, or coerce politicians into supporting it. Russia is still a malign influence in the world. ~~~~~ Yuliia Dukach is a full-stack data journalist at Texty.org.ua and has extensive experience in creating a range of data-driven stories and investigating disinformation in the Ukrainian news media. Texty.org.ua is a Ukrainian Data Journalism Agency that promotes transparency and accountability by developing high-quality journalism and data journalism. Their activities include analysis and presentation of big data in an interesting and comprehensive way, in the form of interactive infographics and web applications. They investigate and research socially important topics that other media do not often raise for a number of reasons. Yuliia has a Ph.D. in Sociology and uses her sociological background and insights to bring to life text, statistics, and network data to fight Russian disinformation operations in the Ukrainian media. ~~~~~ ARTICLES & RESOURCES: https://texty.org.ua/ https://texty.org.ua/tag/disinfomonitor/ https://texty.org.ua/projects/109040/a-year-of-war/ https://texty.org.ua/projects/108323/germs-russian-world-who-supports-russia-europe/ https://texty.org.ua/projects/108161/telegram-occupation-how-russia-wanted-breed-media-monster-ended-paper-tiger/ LINKS: https://twitter.com/ydukach https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuliia-dukach/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/sanctions-do-not-work-russian-disinfo/ ~~~~~

There’s no such thing as a former KGB man, writes Mark Hollingsworth. Is the FSB an intelligence agency gone out of control, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western political institutions? The scale of Russian disinformation warfare and Active Measures is huge even when compared to their activities at the height of the Cold War. In 1985, 1,300 KGB officers were stationed in the USA. The FBI only had 350 counter-intelligence officers. Since the early days of the Cold War, the KGB seduced parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest echelons of the Civil Service, and planted fake news in papers across the world. More disturbingly, it never stopped. ~~~~~ Mark Hollingsworth is an investigative journalist and author of 10 books, notably ‘Londongrad – From Russia with Cash, the Inside Story of the Oligarchs’ – published in 2010. He has also written biographies of Mark Thatcher and Tim Bell and acclaimed studies on MI5 and the Saudi Royal Family. He started his career working for Granada TV’s award-winning ‘World in Action’ programme and now contributes regularly to ‘The Times’, ‘Mail on Sunday’, ‘The Guardian’ and ‘The Sunday Times’. His most recent articles about Russia are published in the Spectator. He is currently writing a history of the KGB. ~~~~~ BOOKS: Defending the Realm: Inside MI5 and the War on Terrorism (2004) by Mark Hollingsworth, Nick Fielding Londongrad: From Russia with Cash; The Inside Story of the Oligarchs (2009) by Mark Hollingsworth, Stewart Lansley Saudi Babylon: Torture, Corruption and Cover-Up Inside the House of Saud (2012) by Mark Hollingsworth, Sandy Mitchell ~~~~~

You may not be interested in Russia. But Russia is interested in you. Writes Kier Giles in his book: Russia's War on Everybody. Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022 is a challenge to the West also, and has prompted a range of responses, but also hesitancy, anxiety, and caution. From the expansion of NATO to military investment planning, supply of equipment and training of Ukraine troops, the Western alliance, as well as many other countries, are in this war, whether they fully acknowledge and embrace it, or not. But Russia has been waging a clandestine war against the West for decades. Hostile acts abroad, from poisoning dissidents to shooting down airliners, interfering in elections, spying, hacking, and murdering, have long been part and parcel of Kremlin foreign policy. But what is it all for? Why does Russia consistently behave like this? And what does it achieve? ---------- SPEAKER: Keir Giles has spent his career watching, studying, and explaining Russia. Keir’s work has appeared in a wide range of academic and military publications across Europe and in North America, and he is a regular contributor and commentator on Russian affairs for international print and broadcast media. He is a Senior Consulting Fellow at the UK's Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), and also works with the Conflict Studies Research Centre (CSRC), a group of deep subject matter experts on Eurasian security formerly attached to the British Ministry of Defence. He is a regular contributor to research projects on Russian security issues in the U.S., UK, and Europe. ---------- BOOKS: Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You (2022) Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West (2019) The Turning Point for Russian Foreign Policy (2017) The State of the NATO-Russia Reset (2011) Potential Challenges to Public Order and Social Stability in the Russian Federation (2011) ----------