Signs That You're Looking at Ukraine Through a Russian Prism 👇 1. Perceiving Russian culture as apolitical
Culture is political. Russia weaponizes its heritage, promoting a 'great Russia' myth to normalize the subjugation of other 'lesser' cultures. Literary classics become tools of cultural supremacy.

I didn't know how to describe it, so I drew it.

I drew the casualty figures after missile strikes at the last moment before publication. Because even while drawing a comic about the war, you have to check if Russia has killed someone else in those few minutes you were drawing.

I thought for a very long time about whether to post this or not, because is it the responsibility of a Ukrainian to educate Russians? (TLDR: it’s not.) Given recent media and online conversations, I felt compelled to share this guide. A Guide for Russians on how to Talk About Ukraine Without Sounding Imperialist.

Inspired by recent events and in the spirit of being constructive, here are some concrete bare minimum steps that need to be taken by Russian opposition for Ukrainians to consider cooperating with them again: 📍Acknowledge Imperialist Ideology:
Explicitly recognize and denounce the imperialist and chauvinist ideologies that have influenced Russian society and policy.

Messages for Ukrainian defenders that will forever remain unanswered.
Part 2
Translated by @Boochelnikova

https://twitter.com/mariamposts/status/1757830478608924900

MYKHAILO REUTSKY

Millions of us have messages for Ukrainian defenders that will forever remain unanswered. My friend @boochelnikova translated these messages and asked me to design and share them to help reach a wider audience. Here are a few. ANDRIY BORYSOVYCH PILSHCHYKOV
(call sign JUICE)

Christmas is just around the corner, and as the holiday approaches, I'm surrounded by two distinct tunes, each with a different story: the Nutcracker theme and the famous “Carol of The Bells.” 👇 When you hear the Nutcracker theme, you immediately know that it was written by Russia’s Tchaikovsky who left his mark both on classical music and numerous films. But do you know who wrote “Carol of The Bells”?

Today is International Children's Day. Allow me to remind you of how Russia "celebrates" this day in Ukraine. Here are photos that bear witness to the fate of some Ukrainian children, mercilessly killed by Russia. This is photo of 9yo girl, she was killed today in Kyiv. 13yo boy and his father, Kharkiv, 20/07/2022

How did May 9th, the day commemorating the victory over fascism, ironically transform into a neo-fascist cult in contemporary Russia?👇 The cult of tradition is the first of 14 features Umberto Eco lists characteristic of fascist regimes in his work "Il fascismo eterno". The "cult of victory" became the central tradition of modern Russian propaganda.

Тред про перекладання відповідальності, відсутність емпатії або пояснення чому ми не довіряємо ліберальним росіянам. всі ми стали свідками коментаря пані Шульман в контексті роздумів про майбутні проблеми в росії, а конкретніше – про наслідки війни та як їм жити з ветеранами. Пропоную детально розібрати кожну фразу, яка викликає у мене шок в цьому коментарі. Уточнення, Шульман – політолог, вона відома особистість серед російських лібералів та опозиціонерів. Вона дає публічні лекції та є медійною людиною.

How one comment of a prominent Russian liberal on a post about Russia’s future in the context of war sheds light on the reasons why Ukrainians distrust them. I’ll explain and examine each statement made by Mrs. Shulman in this thread.👇 I suggest thoroughly examining each statement within this comment that causes me concern. Note: Shulman, a prominent figure among Russian liberals /oppositionists, is a distinguished political scientist who frequently delivers public lectures and is highly visible in the media.

8 березня, прекрасний день, коли варто поговорити про те, чому не було відомих художниць? Манюній тред (або не дуже манюній) 🧵 Проблема не в тому, що в житті жінок-художниць були деспотичні чоловіки, які заважали їм займатися творчістю. Проблема також не в тому, що жінки не вірили в себе і у свій талант. Проблема – в самій природі інституційних структур і у тому, який світогляд вони нав'язують.

The high level of corruption in Russia is not a secret. However, one thing is to have corruption. A whole other thing is normalizing oligarchy/corruption through popular culture. For example, nowhere else but TV shows for kids!🧵 I took a break from Twitter as I was working on other projects, but also I spent some months on this topic (yes, I had to watch all the episodes). So let's talk about popular culture in Russia as a tool to cement corruption in the minds of young people.

Закінчуючи срачі про олів'є, невеличкий 🧵тред про традиції (нові та старі), сором та Новий рік
🍊🎄🎅 Озираючись на своє минуле, бачу скільки традицій в моєму дитинстві було пов'язано з росією. Від цього мені пусто та боляче. Наче переглядаю старі фотокартки з абьюзером, з яким прожила 30 років в одній квартирі.

I always liked to walk in Kyiv on January 1, as there were almost no people on the street. The streets now are as if it was January 1, only much darker due to power outages. I don't like it.

2021 vs 2022 This darkness hides millions of lives behind the dark windows. Russia is dragging us into darkness physically and psychologically.

Got onto the train to Kyiv in Poland and got transported to another reality. The train is full of women and kids. They are getting to know each other, so they start small talks, but the ukrainian kind of small talk. The Ukrainian small talk is to ask about war.
1/6 I overheaed some fragments of these conversations during the first 5 minutes in the train: "Today they bombed the lake near us, I'll go call my relatives now, sorry."
2/6

Each day for at least the last eight years, Russian TV has been publicly mocking the Ukrainian language. Today I will try to explain the subtle meaning of this mockery, which could be challenging to understand without knowing Ukrainian and Russian languages. The willingness of Ukrainians to speak Ukrainian offends Russian chauvinists. Hence, there could be only one reason why Ukrainians reject the mighty Russian (the language of civilization and culture) and replace it with the Ukrainian one: Ukrainians are limited and pretentious.

«Українці – голубоокі блондини, тому їм допомагають». У цій фразі та у відповідях до неї є дещо фундаментально неправильне. Крім того, що українці здебільшого не мають світлого волосся та очей.👇🏽 Як не голубоока та не блондинка українка вважаю, що коли ми українці починаємо демонструвати, що не такі, ми приймаємо правила цієї гри: головна умова для допомоги – небілість. Сама суть цієї гри – неправдива, тому не варто в неї грати.

“Ukrainians are white and blue-eyed. That's why the West helps them.” There is something fundamentally wrong with this phrase and responses to it, other than that most Ukrainians do not have blond hair and blue eyes. 👇🏽 As a non-white, non-blue-eyed, and non-blonde Ukrainian, I believe that when Ukrainians begin to demonstrate that we are not blue-eyed and blonde, we accept the fundamentally flawed premise that the condition for help is nonwhiteness.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is a result of a centuries-old dangerous mainstream ideology of Russian chauvinism, and of the oppression this ideology has produced. Let’s take a look at the cultural dimension of this oppression through the lens of Russia’s stereotyping of Ukrainians🧵 I suggest thinking about Russian stereotyping of Ukrainians in terms of two stages. First, a “romantic” image before the 20th century (it’s worse than it might sound), and second, a “treacherous” twist of this image from the 20th century until now. I will talk about both next.

As a typical cross-culture kid, I have experienced problems with my self-identification all my life: Who am I? Is there any place where I fit? Is it normal to feel social alienation where I was born and grew up? Maybe I don’t belong anywhere? However, the older I got, the more people with the same identity crisis I met. We all had different experiences but faced very similar difficulties. Nevertheless, there are also good things about it: I have a unique opportunity to *choose* an identity.