One of the most common reactions to my articles has, to my surprise, been the following: "A Russian invasion of the EU isn’t remotely realistic. Attack NATO? Absurd. The Baltic states are NATO members, and striking them would plunge Russia into war with half the planet. 1/9 Russia hasn’t managed to conquer Donetsk Oblast in three years, what chance does it have against Europe?" Well, no one is claiming that Russian tank columns will attempt to roll into Berlin tomorrow. The real danger lies elsewhere: 2/9

War is quite an unfavorable environment for the critical deconstruction of historical mythology or for the examination of uncomfortable pages in Ukrainian history. But what will happen is we put this discussion on hold? A few words about the responsibility of intellectuals. 🧵 Since 2022, many Ukrainian intellectuals rushed to demonstrate that this war is a part of a broader pattern of Russian relation toward Ukraine. But too often a supposedly historical approach becomes unhistorical or even anti-historical.

Igor Girkin, a Russian ultra-nationalist and war criminal, was arrested. Russian state is actually trying to silence the most prominent supporters of war. The situation is explosive. Let me explain why. One thing is obvious - Girkin, a sincere russian imperial nationalist, was too vocal about the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Russian army. But the growing tension between the state and the Russian nationalists has deep historical logic.

It always shocks me to see the arrogance with which some “public intellectuals” allow themselves to talk about Russian war in Ukraine from what they think to be a universalist position and how actively they can avoid any direct dialog with the first concerned. It seems to me that a schematic geopolitical thinking and a methodological egocentrism are the main obstacles for building any type of international solidarity.