Julia Ioffe
@juliaioffe.bsky.social
Author of MOTHERLAND: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy. A finalist for the National Book Award.
DC correspondent at Puck.
All views my own.
DC correspondent at Puck.
All views my own.
Pinned
Julia Ioffe
@juliaioffe.bsky.social
· Oct 21
MOTHERLAND is finally out today! And she's a finalist for the National Book Award.
Get your copy today!
bookshop.org/p/books/moth...
Get your copy today!
bookshop.org/p/books/moth...
Good thing Trump took using force to conquer Greenland off the table. Because, according to the generals and admirals who would have to do it, it would be a total nightmare.
My latest.
puck.news/why-invading...
My latest.
puck.news/why-invading...
The Greenland Mile
After claiming the “framework of a deal” to expand America’s presence on the world’s largest island, Trump has dropped his threats to invade Greenland. Thank God, because a direct assault on Greenland...
puck.news
January 23, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Good thing Trump took using force to conquer Greenland off the table. Because, according to the generals and admirals who would have to do it, it would be a total nightmare.
My latest.
puck.news/why-invading...
My latest.
puck.news/why-invading...
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
I just read "Motherland," by Julia Ioffe @juliaioffe.bsky.social and it is revelatory, beautifully-written, and quite sad.
Most moving are the portraits of Ioffe's foremothers. Two of her great-grandmothers were doctors; so were her mother and grandmother.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Most moving are the portraits of Ioffe's foremothers. Two of her great-grandmothers were doctors; so were her mother and grandmother.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Motherland by Julia Ioffe review – the matriarchs who built mother Russia
A journalist uses family and political history to paint a portrait of a country in turmoil through its women
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I just read "Motherland," by Julia Ioffe @juliaioffe.bsky.social and it is revelatory, beautifully-written, and quite sad.
Most moving are the portraits of Ioffe's foremothers. Two of her great-grandmothers were doctors; so were her mother and grandmother.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Most moving are the portraits of Ioffe's foremothers. Two of her great-grandmothers were doctors; so were her mother and grandmother.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
This book is vital modern history from @juliaioffe.bsky.social Read it, especially the unbearable parts. Learn from history- how misogyny is inherent to authoritarianism, and the total oblivion of the human spirit for *all* people at the end of patriarchy's dark corridor. This is the human struggle.
January 8, 2026 at 8:59 PM
This book is vital modern history from @juliaioffe.bsky.social Read it, especially the unbearable parts. Learn from history- how misogyny is inherent to authoritarianism, and the total oblivion of the human spirit for *all* people at the end of patriarchy's dark corridor. This is the human struggle.
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Anyone who has spent time around a CEE man of a certain age will know *exactly* what @juliaioffe.bsky.social is getting at here
January 18, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Anyone who has spent time around a CEE man of a certain age will know *exactly* what @juliaioffe.bsky.social is getting at here
According to @christogrozev, the weapon thought to be responsible for Havana Syndrome was purchased from Ukraine's HUR, which had purchased it from a Russian. The Ukrainians apparently needed money to fund their mission.
My latest.
puck.news/havana-syndr...
My latest.
puck.news/havana-syndr...
The Havana Hangover
After years of denials, Washington is finally reckoning with new reporting that would seem to confirm the existence of the alleged Russian directed-energy weapon that causes Havana syndrome
puck.news
January 16, 2026 at 6:53 PM
According to @christogrozev, the weapon thought to be responsible for Havana Syndrome was purchased from Ukraine's HUR, which had purchased it from a Russian. The Ukrainians apparently needed money to fund their mission.
My latest.
puck.news/havana-syndr...
My latest.
puck.news/havana-syndr...
Lew Olowski, the Monster energy drink-swilling, Jesus-and-dolphin speech-giving, head of State Dept HR is out after an epic office meltdown.
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
The Big Olowski Has Left the Building
Lew Olowski, the State Department’s wacky, polarizing head of H.R., is said to have imploded at his farewell party when he learned that he wasn’t getting a coveted assignment.
puck.news
January 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Lew Olowski, the Monster energy drink-swilling, Jesus-and-dolphin speech-giving, head of State Dept HR is out after an epic office meltdown.
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
Lew Olowski, the Monster energy drink-swilling, Jesus-and-dolphin speech-giving, head of State Dept HR is out after an epic office meltdown.
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
The Big Olowski Has Left the Building
Lew Olowski, the State Department’s wacky, polarizing head of H.R., is said to have imploded at his farewell party when he learned that he wasn’t getting a coveted assignment.
puck.news
January 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Lew Olowski, the Monster energy drink-swilling, Jesus-and-dolphin speech-giving, head of State Dept HR is out after an epic office meltdown.
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
My latest.
puck.news/lew-olowski-...
Went on The Late Show with my beloved Stephen Colbert last night to talk about Venezuela and MOTHERLAND!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWW...
Julia Ioffe: The Soviet Union Was Once The Vanguard Of World Feminism
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
www.youtube.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:27 PM
Went on The Late Show with my beloved Stephen Colbert last night to talk about Venezuela and MOTHERLAND!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWW...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJWW...
Going on @colbertlateshow.bsky.social tonight! Tune in!!!
January 5, 2026 at 7:33 PM
Going on @colbertlateshow.bsky.social tonight! Tune in!!!
Jared Kushner's back and, this time around, everyone thinks he's absolutely brilliant.
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
The Prodigal Son-In-Law Returns
Jared Kushner has quietly reemerged as an off-the-books diplomat in Trump’s second term, securing a ceasefire in Gaza and now negotiating with Putin to end the war in Ukraine. And foreign-policy types...
puck.news
December 19, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Jared Kushner's back and, this time around, everyone thinks he's absolutely brilliant.
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
It's wild to see someone you've known for decades as a slacker par excellence now publicly blame his lack of professional success on the elevation of women and minorities.
December 18, 2025 at 4:56 PM
It's wild to see someone you've known for decades as a slacker par excellence now publicly blame his lack of professional success on the elevation of women and minorities.
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Loved this book by @juliaioffe.bsky.social, which offers such a smart and thought-provoking take on many events and characters I thought I knew well. It’s also an accessible and thrilling guide to Russian history for readers coming to it fresh. The widespread praise is well-deserved.
December 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Loved this book by @juliaioffe.bsky.social, which offers such a smart and thought-provoking take on many events and characters I thought I knew well. It’s also an accessible and thrilling guide to Russian history for readers coming to it fresh. The widespread praise is well-deserved.
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia" by @juliaioffe.bsky.social is FANTASTIC.
Best book on gender for 2025.
Some gender books on Russia have been ideologically narrow, but this is superbly researched and extremely readable. Bravo!
Best book on gender for 2025.
Some gender books on Russia have been ideologically narrow, but this is superbly researched and extremely readable. Bravo!
December 2, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia" by @juliaioffe.bsky.social is FANTASTIC.
Best book on gender for 2025.
Some gender books on Russia have been ideologically narrow, but this is superbly researched and extremely readable. Bravo!
Best book on gender for 2025.
Some gender books on Russia have been ideologically narrow, but this is superbly researched and extremely readable. Bravo!
What is a commander to do with an order that may be illegal? Said one retired judge advocate, "That requires a set of balls, because the next thing that might happen is you’re fired. And if you don’t like that risk, don’t take the job, Admiral.”
My latest.
puck.news/boat-strike-...
My latest.
puck.news/boat-strike-...
A Few Bad Men
Experts are debating whether a war crime was committed when the U.S. military executed a double-tap strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, killing the survivors. But who is ultimately respo...
puck.news
December 5, 2025 at 8:47 PM
What is a commander to do with an order that may be illegal? Said one retired judge advocate, "That requires a set of balls, because the next thing that might happen is you’re fired. And if you don’t like that risk, don’t take the job, Admiral.”
My latest.
puck.news/boat-strike-...
My latest.
puck.news/boat-strike-...
How does the Kremlin see Steve Witkoff? “Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
Witkoff and Kushner’s Ukraine Turkey
Trump’s latest push for peace with Russia appears destined to repeat the cycle of false promises, mismatched expectations, and inevitable disappointment. Sources close to the Kremlin say the current p...
puck.news
December 1, 2025 at 2:59 PM
How does the Kremlin see Steve Witkoff? “Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
How does the Kremlin see Steve Witkoff?
“Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
“Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
Witkoff and Kushner’s Ukraine Turkey
Trump’s latest push for peace with Russia appears destined to repeat the cycle of false promises, mismatched expectations, and inevitable disappointment. Sources close to the Kremlin say the current p...
puck.news
November 29, 2025 at 4:27 PM
How does the Kremlin see Steve Witkoff?
“Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
“Witkoff sometimes works like a broken telephone,” the source close to the Kremlin said. “He doesn’t like being precise. He gets upset when people try to write down what he says.”
My latest.
puck.news/jared-kushne...
All of a sudden, Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Army and friend of JD Vance, is in the news. Who is he?
(It won't surprise you to know that we at Puck wrote about him first.)
puck.news/meet-the-one...
(It won't surprise you to know that we at Puck wrote about him first.)
puck.news/meet-the-one...
Dan Driscoll’s Army of One
J.D. Vance’s man in the Pentagon is a rare Trump appointee who commands bipartisan respect and affection. Naturally, this doesn’t sit well with his boss, Pete Hegseth, who doesn’t.
puck.news
November 25, 2025 at 6:11 PM
All of a sudden, Dan Driscoll, Secretary of the Army and friend of JD Vance, is in the news. Who is he?
(It won't surprise you to know that we at Puck wrote about him first.)
puck.news/meet-the-one...
(It won't surprise you to know that we at Puck wrote about him first.)
puck.news/meet-the-one...
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @burcuozcelik.bsky.social and @vinnymcav.bsky.social on the degree to which the Ukraine peace deal is the Kremlin's wish list and the day's other stuff, plus @juliaioffe.bsky.social on her excellent new book "Motherland". monocle.com/radio/shows/...
The US claims progress on Ukraine talks, the G20 wraps up and Israel targets Hezbollah - Monocle
US and Ukrainian delegations meet in Geneva to talk peace; Israel targets Hezbollah’s chief of staff; the G20 wraps up;...
monocle.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @burcuozcelik.bsky.social and @vinnymcav.bsky.social on the degree to which the Ukraine peace deal is the Kremlin's wish list and the day's other stuff, plus @juliaioffe.bsky.social on her excellent new book "Motherland". monocle.com/radio/shows/...
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Saturday evening on the sofa with Bruce and the newest book in my house (cc @juliaioffe.bsky.social)
November 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Saturday evening on the sofa with Bruce and the newest book in my house (cc @juliaioffe.bsky.social)
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Congratulations to @juliaioffe.bsky.social ("Motherland") and Rick Atkinson ("The Fate of the Day") whose new volumes were named among the five best non-fiction books of the year by the @washingtonpost.com! Both of these are absolute must-reads. www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
The 10 best books of 2025
The year’s best fiction and nonfiction, as selected by the staff of The Washington Post’s Book World.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Congratulations to @juliaioffe.bsky.social ("Motherland") and Rick Atkinson ("The Fate of the Day") whose new volumes were named among the five best non-fiction books of the year by the @washingtonpost.com! Both of these are absolute must-reads. www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Recently had the pleasure of editing this gorgeous review of @juliaioffe.bsky.social's new book, Motherland, in @foreignpolicy.com:
How a ‘Fairy-Tale Country’ for Women Turned Its Back on Feminism
Julia Ioffe’s new feminist history of Russia offers important lessons for the West.
foreignpolicy.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Recently had the pleasure of editing this gorgeous review of @juliaioffe.bsky.social's new book, Motherland, in @foreignpolicy.com:
Reposted by Julia Ioffe
Putin's first public response to Washington's 28-point peace plan is characteristically noncommittal. He seems to confirm suspicions that it was drawn up on the back of a napkin, so to speak, but he ain't ruling nothing out.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
In his first public comments, Putin says Trump’s 28-point peace plan wasn’t discussed ‘substantively’ with Moscow but could serve as ‘basis for a final peace settlement’ — Meduza
In his first public comments on the Trump administration’s 28-point peace plan for the war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said on Friday that an early version of the White House’s proposals was part of di...
meduza.io
November 21, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Putin's first public response to Washington's 28-point peace plan is characteristically noncommittal. He seems to confirm suspicions that it was drawn up on the back of a napkin, so to speak, but he ain't ruling nothing out.
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
meduza.io/en/news/2025...
Is Trump going for regime change in Venezuela? “I tried to get him to do it a lot, but he didn’t want to do it,” Trump’s erstwhile national security advisor John Bolton told me. “But once he’s in it, it becomes about, what does he think he can get credit for?”
My latest.
puck.news/will-trump-a...
My latest.
puck.news/will-trump-a...
Trump’s Venezuela Doctrine
The president’s saber-rattling in the Caribbean reflects his instinct for both political theater and indecisiveness, as well as the competing advisors in his ear. In fact, Trump’s plan for Venezuela m...
puck.news
November 21, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Is Trump going for regime change in Venezuela? “I tried to get him to do it a lot, but he didn’t want to do it,” Trump’s erstwhile national security advisor John Bolton told me. “But once he’s in it, it becomes about, what does he think he can get credit for?”
My latest.
puck.news/will-trump-a...
My latest.
puck.news/will-trump-a...
MOTHERLAND is one of Washington Post's top 10 books of the year!
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
The 10 best books of 2025
The year’s best fiction and nonfiction, as selected by the staff of The Washington Post’s Book World.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:48 PM
MOTHERLAND is one of Washington Post's top 10 books of the year!
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...