Ben Noble

Brilliant briefing, coming out of a longer project run by Ian Bond (@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social) and Ben Noble @benhnoble.bsky.social (UCL) under @uclei.bsky.social’s Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence programme 2023-26.

My latest piece - inspired by 3 workshops in 2024 organised with @uclei.bsky.social & with intellectual input fm @benhnoble.bsky.social . As Witkoff & Kushner enjoy Putin's hospitality in Moscow, seems like a good time to say that Europe must build its security with UA, against RU & without the US.

“All red lines are in the heads of Western politicians and Putin knows this too well"- Sergei Medvedev & @benhnoble.bsky.social discussed at @chathamhouse.org why Russia won't stop its war on Ukraine & why the West is reluctant to see Russia defeated.

Full video www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/r...

📣 New event | 21 October | Russia’s long war in Ukraine

Panelists: Natalie Sabanadze (@chathamhouse.org), historian Sergei Medvedev & our associate fellow @benhnoble.bsky.social

Register interest to attend in person or online: www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/r...

Soft power: Russia revives the Intervision song contest, Cold War rival to Eurovision Russia on Saturday hosts Intervision, an international song contest that was a regular fixture in Soviet states in the 1960s and ’70s. The revival follows Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision since its…

What to make of the Intervision song contest? See this excellent article by Joanna York for @france24.com, including comment from me. @uclssees.bsky.social

www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

Russian Copycats of McDonald’s and Starbucks Are Preparing to Defend Their Turf Sanctions have allowed some Russian consumer companies to thrive and they are digging in for a fight.

Russian copycats of McDonald's and Starbucks are preparing to defend their turf.

Excellent article by Eleanor Thornber for @bloomberg.com on how Russian copycat brands are faring, with comment from me. @uclssees.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This made me guffaw.

Fascinating interviews with Russian journalists who never emigrated and stuck with the profession. Their harsh criticisms of the exiled independent press are profound — a real gut punch. Russian & Western audiences seem to have completely opposite demands & expectations. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

A Prison Death Highlights Russia’s LGBTQ Crackdown The Russian government has unleashed a wave of repression against L.G.B.T.Q. people, with the police raiding gay night clubs and investigators targeting people they suspect of being gay.

With the war in Ukraine and war-related repression expanding in Russia, it's easy to overlook a major transformation in Russia right now: thanks to a new 'extremism' designation, gay people are virtually outlawed in Russia.
My piece with Alina Lobzina:
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/w...

The reason, of course, why this is so powerful is that it's an example of solidarity that we want to be more frequent – of colleagues calling out b******t, realising that, if they don't, the very foundations on which our institutions are built crumble.

If the American journalist she calls to ask a question instead, who responds by saying yeah I’d like you to answer the Brit’s question, is ever in a London pub we’re definitely buying him a drink yes

💡 We've compiled the Bluesky accounts of the Russia and Eurasia Programme team and Associate Fellows - follow for even more analysis and comment on global affairs!

What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani? | Hurst Publishers An in-depth study of this Central Asian nation’s evolution since 1991, exploring how ethnicity, war and internal unrest are shaping and reshaping Kazakh identity.

My latest book, What Does It Mean to Be Kazakhstani, is OUT now with Hurst publishers.

The art cover by my favourite Qazaq artist Kuanysh Bazargaliev is already a selling point for the physical copy <3

But there's a lot of interesting things inside:

www.hurstpublishers.com/book/what-do...

Book Review: ‘Zero Sum,’ by Charles Hecker As the Trump administration pushes for renewed business ties with Russia, a new book looks back at the companies that helped prop up illiberalism in the country.

Zero Sum's launch day in the US is accompanied by this wonderful review in the @nytimes.com by David Kortava of @foreignaffairs.com Zero Sum is available via @oxfordunipress.bsky.social and @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/b...

6 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

📖🎉 Big book news! Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, is an Editors' Choice in the @nytimes.com this week. Zero Sum is out the US w/ @oxunipress.bsky.social. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social

6 New Books We Recommend This Week www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/b...

I am hugely grateful for this thoughtful and wonderfully written review of Zero Sum in The Tablet. As companies prepare to re-enter Russia, read what it was like when they entered 30 years ago - and evacuated 3 years ago. @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social

Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia Hecker speaks with dozens of Western business executives, bankers, and financiers who reaped immense profits in the Russian market after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

What an honour for Zero Sum
to be reviewed in @foreignaffairs.com and by none other than Maria Lipman, whose work I have always admired. www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/zero... @hurstpublishers.bsky.social @oxunipress.bsky.social @benhnoble.bsky.social

After Navalny: evaluating the impact of Alexei Navalny and his movement on Russian politics Alexei Navalny was the leading Russian opposition figure – even when behind bars. One year on from his death, what can we say about the impact he, his team, and his movement made on Russian politics? ...

Today @benhnoble.bsky.social and @mlallouet.bsky.social will discuss the legacy and impact of Alexei Navalny on Russian politics. St. Anthony's College, Oxford University, 17:00-19:00 BST, in person only! talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/9a8...

One year on from Alexei Navalny’s death, what will his legacy be for Russia? Navalny battled for an alternative to Putin’s regime – and paid the ultimate price. The Kremlin has made sure there cannot be another opposition figure like him.

It's the one-year anniversary of Alexei Navalny's death on Sunday. What can we say about his legacy at this stage? My thoughts for @theconversation.com. @uclssees.bsky.social @chrussiaeurasia.bsky.social @hurstpublishers.bsky.social
theconversation.com/one-year-on-...

Same information that in the text

Polisky Dictatorsky
Join us next week for the first workshop of the season! Daniella Slabinski(@statsvitenskap.bsky.social) will present work on Illiberal legislation as a rent seeking tool in the Russian legislature. @benhnoble.bsky.social (UCL) and Erin York (Vanderbilt University) will discuss.

More info should be in the link in the first post of the thread.

Looking forward to this!

Moscow's Pushkin Institute revealed its word of the year as... "Pushkin."

Депутат Пискарев: грань между иноагентом и предателем все менее различима Подробнее на сайте

State Duma deputy Vasily Piskarev saying the quiet part out loud, claiming that "the line between foreign agent and traitor is becoming less and less clear".

www.kommersant.ru/doc/7312496

Thanks for the welcome, @kevinrothrock.me!