Jeremy Morris

"If Europe continues down this path, a settlement will eventually be imposed that reflects the interests of Putin and whichever Americans happen to be influential at that moment. Europe will then complain loudly and indignantly, as if it played no part in the outcome."

Circus Amidst the absolute chaos of a Witkoff-stamped Russian psyop-as-peace plan, discussion is filled with anger at Washington and at Moscow.

"Bluntly, even in 2022 we only supported Ukrainians because they fought like heroes from Norse myth and got results. We didn’t support them because it was the morally right thing to do." @drjademcglynn.bsky.social smalldeedsbigwar.substack.com/p/circus

Three interview commentaries: Schulmann, Zubarevich, Kagarlitsky Sometimes I like to blog about what’s going on in Russian social media spaces abroad though it doesn’t seem to bring many readers here. That’s a shame because it’s a space that only indirectly gets…

postsocialism.org/2025/11/22/t...

New blogpost - the merits of attending to YouTube russophone political commentary. In short, it's a lot more informative than Twitter or Bsky, that's for sure. Kagarlitsky, Schulmann, and Zubarevich. Five hours of interviews condensed into a single post. Link in the next post:

amazing!

Now I think of it, the most shocking thing I ever experienced in this line was the editor of a very glossy western magazine in Moscow admitting she'd paid $0000s to a 'witch' to get her husband's lover to die of cancer (and she did!). Who researches this shit?

But my favourite is my local astrologer - the wealthiest guy on the block - wealthier even than the Armenian who built a shopping centre:
200 quid for a 10minute zoom on whether the stars will affect your ability to 'win big' this week.

Professor of social sciences in leading Russian uni: 'Let's have a look at your numerology' (pulls out a slide rule and a log scale) and proceeds to do a load of maths to prove I'm a nice boy at heart.

More recent interactions with a qualified medical professional in Ru: 'you don't have your Tarot done at least once a year?' How do you know when to travel safely?

And because I'm nothing if not into procrastination, I went for a deep dive comparing the wikis of said therapy. The English entry has 'criticisms' (of pseudoscience) for 2/3 of article. The Russian has virtually no mention. So symptomatic on how to cash in other's suffering.

Peak Russian émigré posting in the other place:

'I don't travel [to Russia] but I can tell you how the country is changing'

then a long prose-poem linking to a paid pseudoscience therapy in Istanbul.

Symptomatic of those who 'woke up' in Feb 22. You had no interest before?

So at what time does crypto's slide become a run as everyone realizes they've got to bail before they're the one holding the bag?

Российские компании отдают почти 40% прибыли на проценты по долгам - Русская служба The Moscow Times

Ticking time-bomb 💣
Russian companies are spending 40% of their profits paying just the interest on their debt, according to a Kremlin think tank.
Source: @themoscowtimes.com

www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/11/17/r...

Strikes on refineries have been the only tariffs Russia hasn't been able to wriggle out of (at least some extent).

The West's leadership has shown itself to be overall weak, compromised and effete - a message not only Russia & co has noted, but also voters.

#econsky

not a lot that is different from other youth. That's the point. And not at all addressed by this kind of article.

The academic world has done an extremely bad job at making even the most basic things about how academics works publicly
understood.

What's unfortunate about this kind of coverage is that it interprets Russian reality in precisely the way the Kremlin would like its population to. While in reality this story has almost zero purchase on what's going on with Russian youth. (you can tell that from whom is quoted and not quoted).

Beyond the Talk: What Questions Reveal About How We Understand Russia Today the real problem was that people with doubts or moral objections are made to feel isolated and in the minority, when that’s not the case at all. Making people think no one would share their opinion…

postsocialism.org/2025/11/12/b...

Did a short blog on audience questions when I do a talk.

"access to information in Russia is not the problem, nor is censorship: the real problem is that people with doubts or moral objections are made to feel isolated and in the minority, when that’s not the case at all."

Link in the next post:

Save the date! www.zois-berlin.de/en/events/ta... 16 January 2026, Berlin, we're organising our second conference : "Taking Stock: Russia and the Russians Four Years After the Full-Scale Invasion" This time, we teamed with @zois.bsky.social to build this exciting programme with 4 panels.

Hi Sven, I think part of the problem is the ever narrowing sense of specialization among experts and researchers.

Ethnography (about Russia) is not anecdotes one of the main problems of the monocrop ‘Russia expertise field’ is its frequent distance, disdain or condescension towards its subject matter. Externally-imposed theories and even domestically co…

Another excellent blog post from @jeremymorris.bsky.social about the perils of positivism and the grave insult / misunderstanding inherent in dismissing ethnography as "anecdotal." Also, the article features a half naked lady. Something for everyone.

postsocialism.org/2025/11/01/e...

😅

Ethnography (about Russia) is not anecdotes one of the main problems of the monocrop ‘Russia expertise field’ is its frequent distance, disdain or condescension towards its subject matter. Externally-imposed theories and even domestically co…

postsocialism.org/2025/11/01/e...

"When I present my work, it often meets incredulity or hostility, even among fellow social scientists. I can’t tell you how many times my work has been downgraded to ‘that’s just an anecdote’". Link to a rant in the next post.

No, I'm not the owner of the McFlud Telegram channel entirely devoted to his bloopers.

The legend that is Mr Tickle.

YouTube video by Russia Unfiltered Why Russia Experts Get Russia Wrong | Russia Unfiltered #4

As the grim darkness descends on Europe (minus Russia) with its insistence on an observing an archaic October clock-ritual, why not brighten your evening with these three blokes talking about which Ru-adjacent journalists and pundits they despise the most. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvGP...

90% of publications now fit this description tbf

Reupping: "Russia has moved towards a much more rigid ideological structure and has an official ideology, but at least to this reader, the book, with its repetition of the terms 'repertoires' and 'plasticity', seems to argue for something different"