In 2014 John Mearsheimer wrote in @nytimes, Crimea is "surely lost for good." Why?

As Rory Finnin tells @United24media, the answer is laziness. "Many such pundits don't know Russian. They certainly don't know Ukrainian or Crimean Tatar." /1
united24media.com/perspectives/w… "They present this 'Crimea is surely lost for good' defeatism as 'realism'.

"But their ‘realism’ stems from a basic disrespect for the concept of Westphalian sovereignty which holds that each state, regardless of size or standing, has the right to control its own territory." /2

Have you ever heard of Circassia, a land on the shores of the Black Sea?

Russia wiped it off the map in the 19th century, killing and displacing millions of people.

It took them over 100 years. 🧵 Over 150 years ago, readers in the West followed this brutal act of conquest, marvelling at Russia's defeats and expressing shock at its suicidal losses.

@nytimes, 1857: Russia's war against Circassia has not had "any appreciable result for 50 years." Sound familiar? 2/

It’s only an incidental remark, but @markgaleotti’s contrast between ‘justice’ and ‘pragmatism’ (read: appeasement) is illustrative of a troubling lack of self-reflection among many in the Russia watcher crowd. 1/

https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/1871836079856435447

The story of Western responses to Russian aggression since 2014 has been one of ‘justice giving way to pragmatism’, as Galeotti puts it.

At each stage – Crimea, Donbas, etc. – ‘pragmatic’ politicians + analysts downplayed this aggression and the threat to our interests. 2/

In 2015 Rory Finnin wrote a checklist of vetting questions for western IR analyses about Russia's war against Ukraine. Still relevant, sadly.

1. Has the author published anything about Ukraine before? huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-rory-finnin… "2. Does the author characterise Ukraine as a country with agency, independence and sovereignty in the content of his/her analysis?

"That is, are Ukrainians subjects of the story?"

Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies, @Cambridge_Uni :

'Upon becoming Pope, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose the name Francis to express his solidarity with those facing injustice. In the case of Russia’s war against Ukraine, he risks insulting his namesake.' 🧵 1/7 'He also risks following in the footsteps of another Cardinal-turned-Pontiff who failed to speak and act with moral clarity when Ukrainians were dying en masse -- in 1933, during the Holodomor. The man was Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.' 2/7

In 1990, students in Kyiv went on a mass hunger strike to call for more rights and autonomy in the Soviet Union. It was Ukraine's 'Revolution on Granite.'

A 13 year old named Maksym voiced his support for them and for the independence of Ukraine. We all should know his name. 🧵 He is Maksym Butkevych, a journalist and rights activist who has dedicated his life to promoting human dignity, transparency, and the rule of law.

He joined Ukraine's Armed Forces after February 2022.

Today Russian occupiers + proxies sentenced him to 13 years in prison. 2/4

Ukraine faces an existential threat from the Russian Federation. In response, the University of Cambridge has worked with Ukrainian institutions of higher education to devise a multi-pronged, long-term strategy of support. Highlights: 🧵 1/7 cam.ac.uk/ukraine#group-… ** Non-Residential Fellowships in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to meet scholars where they are and to fight the problem of brain drain. 2/7 cam.ac.uk/ukraine#group-…