Bradley Gorski
@bgorski.bsky.social
280 followers 190 following 47 posts
Literature and capitalism, esp in Russia. Prof at Georgetown. Erstwhile union organizer.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
bgorski.bsky.social
I made a book!

It’s about the wild Russian book industry as the Soviet Union fell; it’s got interviews with authors, publishers, and critics, close readings and bestseller stats—all while showing how capitalism emptied out Russian culture and how it might be coming for us next.
bgorski.bsky.social
Another reminder that it’s worth thinking about dissent in as many ways as possible these days.

Resistance is always possible
princetonupress.bsky.social
Congratulations to Benjamin Nathans, whose book To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause won the @aseees.bsky.social Reginald Zelnik Book Prize in History, recognizing an outstanding history monograph published on Russia, Eastern Europe, or Eurasia!

Explore his monumental work here: hubs.ly/Q03LzMJl0
To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement by Benjamin Nathans Benjamin Nathans
bgorski.bsky.social
Then he loaned me his bike for a year when we were in Budapest. I climbed the Buda hills on a Nobel Laureate’s bike. Wild!
bgorski.bsky.social
Irina Denischenko brought him to the Harriman Institute when we were grad students at Columbia and I got to spend some time with him. Such a glorious kook and a great writer!
bgorski.bsky.social
Thank you! These are great! Can’t wait to dig in!
bgorski.bsky.social
Would love to read yours too! Do you have anything at the sharing stage on the Czech book world? I likewise know little about the world outside of Russia but I’ve been talking to a few people who work across the post socialist world. My next project will likely be more comparative
bgorski.bsky.social
I got to talk with Maria Lipman about my book last week. Check it out!
johnraimo.bsky.social
Maria Lipman interviews Bradley A. Gorski (@bgorski.bsky.social) for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social: "Cultural Capitalism: Literature and the Market After Socialism" ( #bookhistory, #skystorians) newbooksnetwork.com/cultural-cap...
bgorski.bsky.social
Totally normal headline
bgorski.bsky.social
Masked agents kidnapping civilians, hanging 50 ft banners of the leader’s face, declaring war on an American city — that anyone can’t see this is evil is just insane
bgorski.bsky.social
Masked agents kidnapping civilians, hanging 50 ft banners of the leader’s face, declaring war on an American city — that anyone can’t see this is evil is just insane
bgorski.bsky.social
Or, you know, how does the illegal abduction and visa revocation of students fit into this ideal of universities being honestly beholden to taxpayers?
bgorski.bsky.social
This guy says he wants universities to focus on the truth.

Why wasn’t the question asked whether it bothers him that the political movement he has aligned himself with is based on a rigorously enforced lie?
nytimes.com
The conservative activist Christopher Rufo has become an influential voice in the ear of the Trump administration as it turns his strategy into a crackdown on higher education.

Listen to our interview with Rufo on today's episode of "The Daily."
The Conservative Activist Pushing Trump to Attack U.S. Colleges
Christopher Rufo has helped inspire Republican messaging and bills on hot-button issues.
www.nytimes.com
bgorski.bsky.social
Universities: before you capitulate, remember that you’re up against a weak-willed petty tyrant who wasn’t able to face a stock market dip for more than a weak.

He gives up all the time. He gives in all the time. He loses interest even more.

Stand up. You’re stronger than this.
Reposted by Bradley Gorski
jobium.bsky.social
Pretty much all US news items right now
Meme of Britta from the TV show community with the caption "I can excuse fascism but I draw the line at damaging the economy"
bgorski.bsky.social
I think this might actually be right
ianboudreau.com
Everyone wants there to be a grand scheme behind all of this but the terrible truth is that extremely stupid people are in charge and they have a fanatical devotion to wrong, childlike concepts of society and economics cooked up by right wing radio hosts in order to sell tainted dietary supplements
bgorski.bsky.social
If a pediatrician talking about children dying “might be perceived as anti-government,” maybe the problem is not with the pediatrician
Reposted by Bradley Gorski
aaup.org
AAUP @aaup.org · Mar 24
TODAY @ NOON ET in NYC:

COLUMBIA PROFESSORS TO HOLD EMERGENCY VIGIL AGAINST ADMIN CONCESSIONS TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

Columbia gates at 116th & Amsterdam Ave (Not Broadway)

• Hands Off Our Students, Faculty, & Research

• Defend Science

• Defend Academic Freedom

• Defend Freedom of Speech
Reposted by Bradley Gorski
joshgerstein.bsky.social
SCOOP: Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. w/ @kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/03...
Trump is seeking to deport another graduate student who is legally in the country, lawsuit says
Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at Georgetown, says he is being punished because of the suspected views of his wife, a U.S. citizen with Palestinian heritage.
www.politico.com
bgorski.bsky.social
Awwww! Thanks, Gen! I hope it has something to say to our current moment. I think the embrace of capitalist nihilism traced in the book is a global phenomenon that makes us pretty vulnerable to the vindictive nihilism coming at us from all angles these days.
bgorski.bsky.social
Today is the official pub date for my book, Cultural Capitalism.

Get out there and protest extra-judicial arrests, the concerted destruction of expertise and knowledge creation, the defunding of social services, the attack on freedom of movement, and the gentle compliance of the Democratic Party.
Cultural Capitalism by Bradley A. Gorski | Hardcover | Cornell University Press
Cultural Capitalism explores Russian literature's eager embrace of capitalism in the post-Soviet era. When the Soviet Union fell, books were suddenly bought and sold as commodities. Russia's first bes...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
bgorski.bsky.social
Makes me want to read the whole collection cover to cover!
kitwhitfield.bsky.social
A lesser-known power of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' is where it comes in its collection.

Spoilers, but I suspect you know how 'The Lottery' ends. It's famous for a reason.

But this is important: Jackson arranged the collection it was named after, and she chose the arrangement. 1/
Battered vintage-looking book cover. 

Text: 'Shirley Jackson. the most haunting writer of our time.
The Lottery
Adventures of the Daemon Lover'

The cover is deep black; in the right corner cluster a crumpled scrap of paper and a handful of stones.
bgorski.bsky.social
Someone asked me why I seemed less depressed after Friday than after other recent events and I think this is it: Zelenskyy did what I have been waiting for ANY US politician to do. And it honestly gave me some hope.