Articles

Russia’s war on Ukraine is clearly an attack on the whole of Europe, but domestic responses are still stuck with the narrative of patriarchal solidarity and the concern for consumer comfort on the home front. Philipp Ther argues for active solidarity, and with it, to prepare for the end of the convenience Europe has known: it may hurt, but without it, the long-term losses to freedom and welfare are likely to be higher.

As Ukraine repels tanks, missile attacks, invasion and siege, three journalists from the online platform Gwara Media chronicle their impressions, observations and journeys since the start of the war.

Russia’s aggression may have knocked the pandemic out of most headlines but hasn’t stopped its spread. In wartime, as during any disaster, epidemic diseases take an incredible toll. Ukraine was long viewed as a geopolitical sideshow by the US and EU, resulting in the lowest vaccination rate in Europe.

Russia has no national interests, not even in Ukraine. Russians are denied subjectivity, the means of making rational and responsible decisions. Instead, they have state-sanctioned propaganda, rigged elections, pretend patriotism and a profoundly inhuman leadership.

The governments now sanctioning Russian oligarchs forget to mention that it was the free-market policies of the ’90s that created them. In order to regain the initiative after misreading Russia’s aggression, the Left needs to point out how the war for democracy in Ukraine is part of its own struggle for global justice in the 21st century.

In moments of intense apprehension and fear, we may well be disinclined to read books, but it is vital to actively maintain channels of mutual support. A statement by the editors of the Russian journal ‘New Literary Observer’.

Europe is facing a vast humanitarian crisis. This time, there is a good chance that governments will rise to the challenge. If only because it is all too clear that uncontrolled mass migration is one prong in Russia’s hybrid war against ‘the West’.

Claims that the French electorate has moved right are based on faulty evidence. Because dealignment primarily affects the left, support for redistribution and acceptance of diversity are not reflected in the polls. But the real problem for French politics begins in the voting booth.

Underpaid and overworked: steady gender equality improvements in the Austrian workplace have backslided during the pandemic. What measures could redress the growing imbalance?

Much has been made of abstinence during the pandemic. But the virtues of ‘doing without’ have nothing to do with the refugee’s involuntary loss of home and family. For those never forced to flee, this existential experience is almost beyond imagination.

Word from those on the ground in Ukraine is coming through. And the message is – everyone who needs to leave should, but please don’t say goodbye anymore.

Amidst bipartisan solidarity with Ukraine, Joe Biden’s State of the Union address focused on unity and reconciliation. But in reality, deep rifts remain not just between the parties, but within them too. The jockeying for 2024 has already long begun.

The result of this war is impossible to predict, but one thing is clear: ‘Great Russian Humanist Culture’ has suffered a defeat. Serhiy Zhadan on what the war means for the language of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.

‘We would prefer to talk about art and literature, but right now we are asking for solidarity. Overcome fear, close the skies above Ukraine, save those who may tomorrow join the ranks of the killed and wounded.’

A woman of many words, marginalized amongst feminists during her lifetime, who continued to speak out against sexual violence – take an International Women’s Day moment to engage with the #MeToo movement’s posthumous champion.

The border town of Przemyśl is the main point of entry for Ukrainian refugees entering Poland. Most have come from Lviv, the central node for Ukrainians heading west. The photographer Florian Rainer has followed the route in the other direction. His images record both the anxiety and resilience of people forced to abandon their homes from one day to the next.