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Maria Popova

@popovaprof.bsky.social

36K followers 1.5K following 5K posts

Polisci prof at McGill 🇨🇦⚜️ Democracy, rule of law, (anti)corruption in Eastern Europe 🇺🇦 🇧🇬 🇪🇺; post-Communism; Russo-Ukrainian war and its impact on European democracies; #UkraineIsEurope #DefendDemocracy https://linktr.ee/popovaprof

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 12h

Exactly. And all out of a pathological inferiority complex

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 12h

We do war ourselves. It flows out of our hearts. We give birth to war. And through war we create our world, our Russian world.”

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 12h

Ru is thoroughly fascist right now. “What awaits Russia in future? War awaits Russia. We must turn towards war. It is woven into the pattern of our destiny. The question ‘war or no war?’ does not exist. … War is a spiritual metaphysical phenomenon...
workersliberty.org/story/2025-1...

Putin's philosopher exalts war

“Russia’s War” is the latest literary offering from Russia’s favourite crank philosopher, Alexander Dugin. It is not a book about Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is a book about wars and warriors as ...

workersliberty.org

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 13h

No worries. Occasionally, yes

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 13h

That's not me :-) You want @mariapopova.bsky.social

Reposted by Maria Popova

UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 1d

Russia’s bombs may level cities, but they can’t bury Ukraine’s identity.

Ukraine’s foreign minister says every destroyed museum or church fuels a new kind of resistance—one fought with art, memory, and truth.

The Only Cultural Legacy Russia Leaves Behind Is Scorched Earth

Ukraine's rich cultural heritage garners global interest, supported by robust initiatives to promote Ukrainian art, literature, and music worldwide.

united24media.com

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, she continued a much older policy. It's her post-2022 explanations that are awful. Instead of saying "we negotiated in good faith and Ru was imperialist all along" she is absurdly claiming Europe didn't negotiate in good faith and trying to blame everyone else but Pu/Ru for the war.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

💪🇺🇦

Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

It's truly awful.

Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

I agree. The traditional left-right cleavage is almost entirely gone

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

I see what you mean. But I'm not sure how we can wish a centre-left that is both popular and not populist into existence. In my view, anyone who tries that route is accused by the far left of being a sellout centrist. The 2026 NDP leadership campaign seems headed in a populist direction...

Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Imo, the context in the US and in Europe is different. Your point reflects the problem in the US. Tbh, I'm not certain what the path forward there is. In Europe, the far-right and far-left are banding together to undermine every center-left/center-right government and push pro-Ru/pro-China policies.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Perhaps you're not paying attention to their position on the war. Every time I mention that the far left is pro-Pu, I get coious gaslighting where people point to one "Pu is bad" statement to dismiss the far-left's consistent anti-Ukr/pro-Ru advocacy www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

War in Ukraine: The French left's impossible consistency

In the name of realism and fighting American imperialism, radical parties like La France Insoumise and the Communists plead for negotiations with Russia.

www.lemonde.fr

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

The old ones have a tinge of Santa Claus, the new ones-- of university regalia. I agree the new ones are better.

Reposted by Maria Popova

Olena Halushka @halushka.bsky.social · 1d

For the sake of lasting peace in Europe, russia must be defeated.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Putin is the modern day Hitler, you're trying to tell me about "nuance" in interpreting his actions and you advocate against those who try to help Putin's victims, but I'm the fascist collaborator! You're demonstrating truly amazing lack of self-awareness.

Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

You're quite possibly right. I just wanted to explain why I tend to use centrist...

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Dunno what you mean exactly by leftist thinker. But there are tons and tons of leftist intellectuals/figures who hold positions that are deeply pro-Pu even if they are careful to use "Putin is a brutal dictator, but..." as a disclaimer. West, Chomsky, Varoufakis, Mignolo, Piker.. the list is long.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

The silly analogy you're trying to use reveals your position. Helping Ukraine defend itself is helping Ukraine defend itself. It's not Agent Orange. If Ukraine stops defending itself, it falls under genocidal Ru occupation, which apparently you're okay with. I'm not wasting my time on you.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Spare me. It's exactly the same thing. The "NATO skeptics" want to throw Ukraine under the bus while they fake concern for the Ukrainian working class.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Independent is a quintessentially American term. I think it's not very straightforward in the European context. Center-left and center-right seem perfectly good meaningful terms in the European context.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Nothing and it's great that you don't. Unfortunately, the leadership of the French far-left does support Pu's Ru. Enemy of my enemy kind of thing

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Haha. Do you know who the French far-left supports? Putin! The same guy who heads a murderous fascist dictatorship.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

Such a tired, silly cliche. Let me emphasize since this poster completely misunderstands my post: I'm calling for confrontation. I think centrists who want to save democracy should absolutely confront the far-right/far-left blob who shares a love for Putin's Ru and other autocracies.

OldWhovian @oldwhovian.bsky.social · 1d

Centrism is still the unenthusiastic handjob of politics at the best of times. At the worst of times it's complicit with fascism since centrists refuse confrontation.

Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

I’m guessing the French political crisis that’s unfolding right now is a radicalizing event for all centrists. The far-right and the far-left making barely distinguishable statements is deeply off putting.

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Maria Popova @popovaprof.bsky.social · 1d

I don’t know enough about French politics to have a good hunch