The Slavic Connexion

What happens when Harry Potter arrives in Russia just as Vladimir Putin rises to power? Cullan and Lera speak with returning guest Dr. Eliot Borenstein (NYU), author of the new book The Politics of Fantasy: Magic, Children’s Literature, and Fandom in Putin’s Russia , to unpack how Western fantasy franchises, particularly Harry Potter, were translated, adapted, and politicized in Russia. From Ortho...

On this episode, Cullan speaks with sociology professor Lisa Wisniewski of Goodwin University about her new book exploring the lived experiences of Slavic Americans and the cultural, political, and emotional landscapes they navigate as immigrants. Drawing from personal narratives and interdisciplinary research, Dr. Wisniewski unpacks how migration shapes identity, memory, and belonging in both Eas...

In this episode, we sit down with Russian-born author Yaroslav Barsukov , whose life and work are deeply intertwined with the political upheavals of modern Russia. Growing up in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, Barsukov witnessed firsthand the rise of Vladimir Putin before immigrating to Vienna in 2005. From there, he observed as Russia's trajectory culminated in the full-scale invasio...

What was life like for Russian women under serfdom? In this episode, Cullan talks with the expert on this subject, Dr. Tracy Dennison, a historian and professor at Caltech. Based on her talk by the same name, Tracy explores how societal structures shaped and limited women's choices, opportunities, and constraints under different ruling families. Thanks for listening, and Happy 2025! About the Gues...

On this episode, host Cullan chats with Siarhei of the Prague Civil Society Centre to discuss the transformative work of the organization and the power of the connections they build across Europe and Central Asia. If you've been tuning in for a while, you probably noticed that some of our most recent episodes were also recorded in Prague, during the Centre's Unlock 2024 conference. Unlock is a civ...

On this episode, Basil speaks with Lieutenant Colonel Martin Wroblewski, PhD, a seasoned officer in the German Army with deep insights into the intricacies of European security dynamics. They delve into the German role in NATO and in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, as well as Russian information operations as they pertain to Germany. LTC Wroblewski shares his expertise on the importance of developi...

On this episode, Josh Sanborn joins Lera and Sergio to talk about his latest cultural research on spies and spy fiction from the Cold War, and the fascinating interplay between the Intelligence Community and the fiction world. In his forthcoming book project Bad Romance , Josh unpacks famed novels such as From Russia with Love and Soviet films and how the portrayal of espionage and covert action d...

"When we think about the War in Ukraine, we should think about Belarus as well," says Ryhor Astapenia, founder and research director of the Centre for New Ideas, a Minsk-based non-partisan civil society organization promoting democratic reforms in Belarus. On this episode, Ryhor shares with us about the importance of Belarus in the European security theater, the role of independent media...

On this episode, recorded at UNLOCK Prague 2024, SlavX host Kate speaks with Anastasiia Apetyk, a lawyer and expert on information rights and digital security. Since 2017, at the Expert Centre for Human Rights (Kyiv, Ukraine), Anastasiia has been researching security issues at the community level, problems of information and digital rights, data protection, and digital security. She advises on and...

In this episode, Basil and Misha sit down with Maksim Dvorovyi to discuss his work on digital advocacy in Ukraine and globally, the potential banning of Telegram due to its lack of content regulation, and the trouble with debunking as a method for countering disinformation. We hope you enjoy! ABOUT THE GUEST Maksym Dvorovyi ( @dvorovyi ) is a Kyiv-based digital rights and media law & policy ex...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Keith Brown, a distinguished anthropologist from Arizona State University's Melikian Center. Dr. Brown takes us on a deep dive into the rich and often contentious history of Macedonia, exploring the complexities of historiography and the narratives that shape our understanding of the Balkan region. Join us as Dr. Brown shares his unique journey into the st...

On this episode, Nick speaks with Susanna Weygandt a scholar studying performance theories of Russian and East European theater. She discusses the work of Anatoly Vasiliev, famed Russian theater director for the Moscow School of Dramatic Arts. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST: Elena Susanna Weygandt analyzes and documents performance theories indigenous to Russia and East Europe that have not...

On this episode, José Vergara (Bryn Mawr College) delves into the challenges and rewards of teaching literature in a carceral setting and his continued exploration of novels born behind bars. From the haunting prose of incarcerated writers to the innovative realms of digital humanities, Vergara shares his many projects such as the Encyclopedia of the Dog ( https://encyclopediaofthedog.com/ ) based...

On this episode, Misha and Cullan speak with Fabian Baumann, a research associate at the University of Heidelberg, whose latest book Dynasty Divided (2023, NIU Press) uniquely approaches the nuanced history of Ukrainian and Russian nationalism through a prominent Kievan family of journalists, scholars, and politicians. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE BOOK From Cornell University Press: Dynasty Div...

On this episode, Kseniya Yurtayeva joins Taylor and Basil to discuss her work on cyberaggression, hybrid warfare, and the difficulty of creating and enforcing cyber law in the midst of a global conflict. ABOUT THE GUEST: Kseniya Yurtayeva holds a PhD in criminal law, criminology and criminal-executive law and is a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan with support from the Weiser Diplomac...

On this episode, Taras Fedirko from the University of Glasgow joins us on the Forty Acres to share the multilayered story of post-Soviet media in Ukraine and its dramatic transformations from Kravchuk to Zelenskyy. ABOUT THE GUEST Dr. Taras Fedirko is a Lecturer in Organized Crime and Corruption at the University of Glasgow. His current research focuses on the political economy of war in Ukraine s...

On this episode, attorney and business consultant Daniel Satinsky shares about his new book, which tells the story of American participation in the dismantling of the Soviet economy and the creation of the Russian market economy in the 1990s. Creating the Post-Soviet Russian Market Economy: Through American Eyes is based on more than 100 interviews with citizen diplomats, entrepreneurs, bankers, c...

On this episode, Pjotr Sauer shares his firsthand experiences and reflections on reporting on Russia both before February 24, 2022 from within the country and then after, reporting from outside of the country. He elaborates on the difficulties for all journalists in navigating the challenges and constraints in Russia and expands on the plight of his friend and colleague Evan Gershkovich, the Wall...

On this episode, Valeria Sobol of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaigne talks with us about her 2000 book "Haunted Empire." Dr. Sobol guides us through the tapestries of Imperial Russia, where crumbling estates and eerie figures cast long shadows over the pages of history. Drawing on her meticulous research and profound insights, she unveils the intricate interplay between Gothic...

On this episode, independent journalist Terrell Jermaine Starr shares his experiences covering Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022 and explaining to Americans the importance of the nation for global security, democracy, and humanity broadly. "We all need to be invested in each other's safety and security... Ukraine is the exact place I feel that I need to be to tell the story of h...

On this episode, renowned historian John Connelly from the University of California, Berkeley, talks with us about the growth of fascism from democracy, the roots and justification narratives of anti-semitism in Germany and elsewhere, and the development of nationalism in modern history across Europe. Thanks for listening! ABOUT THE GUEST John Connelly is the Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of His...

On this episode, poitical scientist Serhiy Kudelia of Baylor University speaks with us about multiple topics on Ukraine from the prospects for Ukraine in the long-term, depending on continued western support, to the political effects of the war on Ukrainian leadership. Dr. Kudelia discusses the likelihood of Ukraine gaining any security guarantees from the West and under what conditions Putin migh...

On this episode, we speak with Lieutenant Colonel Martin Wroblewski, PhD, a seasoned officer in the German Army with deep insights into the intricacies of European security dynamics. We delve into the German role in NATO and in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. LTC Wroblewski shares his expertise on the importance of developing interoperability within NATO forces, the strategic partnership between Am...

On this episode, Francesca Lockhart, cybersecurity professor at The University of Texas at Austin, talks about her unique and prescient cybersecurity clinic that she developed on the Forty Acres after leading the Homeland Security Unit at the Texas Department of Public Safety. Francesca also discusses the role of state and local security units in protecting critical infrastructure and the importan...

On this episode, Dr. Togzhan Kassenova joined Taylor and Nick for a conversation about the destructive impact of Soviet nuclear testing in Kazakhstan and the figurative fallout of the dissolution of the USSR which resulted in Russia providing security guarantees to "divorced" states in exchange for the surrender of Soviet weapons of mass destruction. Check out Dr. Kassenova's book fo...