Quotes.

A key tenet of decolonization is moving away from political and cultural paradigms that center on the imperial metropole, valorizing Indigenous and local experiences, cultures, and identities. There is a tragic paradox in the fact that much of what now joins such disparate countries together, providing the basis for solidarity, is a direct result of colonial policies. As in the former colonies of the British Empire, the language of the colonizer, Russian, continues—to varying degrees—to dominate communication between these now independent societies. A shared language, however, does not mean entirely shared experiences. In the social and political hierarchies of both the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, an ethnic Kazakh would have experienced colonial practices very differently from an ethnic Ukrainian. “Racism was not so prominent in Russia’s colonization of Ukraine as it was in its colonization of Central Asia,” Eristavi pointed out.

PAUL MASSARO PODCAST: Decolonizing Russia / Ukrainian Journalist Counters Russia’s Colonial LIES

QEERTY: Maksym Eristavi named one of Queerty’s Pride50 for 2022

NYT: LGBTQ Activists in Ukraine Share the Fight Against Russia’s Invasion

MSNBC: What’s happening to Ukraine has happened so many times before

GASLIT NATION PODCAST: Corruption in Ukraine is enduring legacy of Russian colonialism. The Maksym Eristavi interview

BLACK DIPLOMATS PODCAST: Explaining Russian Colonialism

FOREIGN INSIDERS PODCAST Episode 7: East of Center

When the Czech Republic insists on being called “Central Europe,” the country is making a claim not only to what it is, but what it isn’t. So we want to know: What is Eastern Europe? And why doesn’t the Czech Republic want to be a part of it? Featuring Maksym Eristavi. “There is a constant uphill battle for you to prove your worthiness as part of the European family. And very often I find it very unfair because we were walled off from our European family and European history — and that wasn’t our choice. So you know, getting back and trying to constantly every day prove that you’re European enough—it’s a quite degrading feeling.”

BLACK DIPLOMATS PODCAST: The Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights in Eastern Europe

“The outside world has a complete misunderstanding of the nature of equality struggle in Eastern Europe. When I travel abroad and tell the frontline stories, a common reaction is exotisizing them. They say ‘well, maybe your situation is bad because of inherited societal homophobia or because your people are not there yet when it comes to western human rights standards. I find this to be complete bullshit. Our equality frontlines are well integrated within the global push for human rights equality because of the outsized role that international and transborder homophobic groups play domestically here. They pour so many resources to trump our domestic efforts. Maybe 50 years ago it would be about natural, linear societal evolution, indeed. Folks would just learn more about queer people and get more accepting of them. But that is not simply the case. Our region was more accepting of us maybe 15 years ago than it is now. All because of these foreign conservative groups aggravating identity clash on equality frontlines.”

CALVERT JOURNAL: 30 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is it time to finally stop using the term ‘post-Soviet’

“What we call the ‘post-Soviet legacy’ often takes roots in Russian domination before the Soviet time,” Ukrainian journalist, Maksym Eristavi, tells me. Born in Zaporizhzhya, an industrial town in eastern Ukraine, bordering Donbas, the 35-year-old says that researching western empires across the world helped him understand “post-Soviet” conflicts, such as the ongoing fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in Donbas as a “colonial” war. “Russian colonialism has had different stages, but they still share one DNA.”.”

POLITICO MAGAZINE: What the U.S. Election Meltdown Looks Like to Other Countries

“In Eastern Europe, we keep naming our streets after American politicians for a reason. Having the last-standing colonial empire armed with nukes as a neighbor is a source of constant existential fear. When Moscow invades or interferes with former Russian colonies, the show of solidarity from the rest of Europe often comes too late or doesn’t come at all. Before Trump, United States would fill that gap. After a four-year break, we would like to welcome that ally back, but on an equal par this time. These elections proved that the frontlines of European democracy are not so much different from the United States, after all.”

VOX: The pro-democracy protests rocking Moscow, explained

MONOCLE 24: Why gas supplies are worrying Russia’s neighbours

GLOBAL COMMENT: Everything You Need To Know About Georgia’s First Ever Pride Week

WASHINGTON BLADE: More than 8,000 march in Kyiv Pride parade

HROMADSKE: KyivPride 2019

VICE: Discussing LGBTQ Equality with One of Ukraine’s Only Openly Gay Journalists

SEZNAM ZPRAVY: Komik vůdce národa? Co čekat od muže, který zcela ovládl ukrajinskou politiku

ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Ukraine’s Got a New President. How Did He Do on Inauguration Day?

FREE PRESS UNLIMITED “By working together, we are stronger together”

SEZNAM SPRAVY: Ukrajinské prezidentské volby pod drobnohledem

MONOCLE 24: Ukraine’s new president: who’s laughing now?

Aufwachen: Neues der Ukraine (mit Maxim Eristavi)