Juliane Fürst

Rustaveli Avenue now, on day 465 of daily, uninterrupted, nationwide protests in Georgia.

In fact he was missing the wall coming down because he was teaching me (among others) a class at Dartmouth. He introduced me to Christa Wolf, Borchert, Heiner Müller and Böll. It was a memorable class, punctured by a historical event nobody expected.

Multi-layered relationships to Russia in Tblisi.

Ukraine still stands. And Vienna still stands with Ukraine. Including its large Iranian exile community which came out in force this year. The pain that hung over the square and everyone on it was palpable. One could almost touch it.

Let’s leave it here. Four years of war have taken a toll on all of us, even us who experience it second hand.

I write under my real name and you know who I am. To twist my words to shut down my point is also not so anodyne. You came with your knowledge of Carroll and I came with my knowledge of history. Is this not what should engender a civilised exchange?

I said nothing of this kind. I only pointed out that to circulate this kind of information is a staple of Russian propaganda. I have seen it first hand in Germany. I was not saying anything about Caroll being a propagandist or being incompetent. These are your words.

What other choice does he have? It would be fateful to go into negotiation room with Russians thinking they are divided. But you have made your point. All I did was to point out that it is a tried and trusted tactic. It should be possible to make this point without having my head bitten off.

Long answer necessary to this one. Yes, they were dividEd. But in several instances that division was fostered by KGB or created by rumours. In most cases they lost more than the division was worth. Rumours often personal, eg concerning betrayal, enrichment or sexual deviation.

All I am saying is that the trope is familiar to the historians‘ eye. Apart from that I wonder how helpful it is to have this information in the public when trying to achieve a cease fire. But I recognise that the duty of the journalist is to report.

It is how large parts of the democratic movement were paralyzed in the 1980s.

I think every delegation has divisions. And every journalist can fall prey to being used. I have no opinion if this is the case here. But In my work on perestroika I see precisely this tactic The KGB plant story that opposition divided. Sometimes true but always detrimental to have it in press.

but then the ‘insinuate there is division’ is a trusted tool of russIan propaganda.

The people here profoundly shaped/influenced society and culture as we are experiencing it right this moment. No wonder we feel the way we do about ourselves, really

I know. And there are so many. Trying to get an exhibition at The Wende Museum together.

You are more up to date than me. Did not know it was up there. Thanks for watching and flagging it.

My husband is from Aber. His grandmother lived in the building to the left when it was still a hall of residence. It was a nice surprise to see a familiar view where I did not expect it. Aber noir - the magical and sinister.

It turns out that talking about Russia's corrosive influence on the West and talking about Epstein isn't either or.

In Kyjiw ist nun eine Holocaustüberlebende erfroren, wie die @novayagazeta.bsky.social berichtet. Sie lebte zurückgezogen in Podil. Ihren Namen hatte sie im Waisenhaus erhalten, wo man sie abgegeben hatte, als ihre Eltern in Babyn Jar erschossen worden waren: Bezfamilnaja („Ohne Nachnamen“). Sie
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Ich bin in Kyjiw, und mir wird bang. Ich meine damit nicht nur die Angst vor den Explosionen nachts, die Wände erzittern lassen, die den Menschen alles nehmen, ihr Leben, das ihrer Liebsten. Oder die Sorge um die vielen Freunde, die schon Medikamente gegen Depressionen nehmen und in kalten, dunklen Wohnungen sitzen, die um ihre Alten fürchten oder um ihre Babys. In diesen Tagen, in denen das sonst so hartnäckige Kyjiw in Teilen kollabiert, wächst in mir die Furcht, dass die Worte, die wir aus der Ukraine in den Westen schicken, verhallen: Europa. Muss. Aufwachen. Neue Sanktionen verhängen. Taurus liefern. 1.000-mal gesagt und geschrieben.

In der morgigen @diezeit.bsky.social findet sich auf der Seite 1 ein Leitartikel meiner Kollegin @oliviakortas.bsky.social , die in Kyjiw lebt, der so wahr ist und beklemmend und bestürzend, dass ich ihn jeder und jedem ans Herz legen möchte. Hier der erste Absatz:

The problem is who truly believes that a Trumpian USA will honour any security guarantees? And who thinks that Russia will be an honest deal maker?

The massacre of Iranian protesters reminds of Tiananmen Square - an event that is still shrouded in the darkness of deadly secrecy. The Chinese regime bought itself out of the memory of mass murder by making China rich and imposing silence. Hard to see what Khameini can offer in order to forget.

As Kyiv residents face brutal winter blackouts and heating disruptions caused by Russian strikes, World Central Kitchen is delivering thousands of hot meals.

De facto however it was done all the time. I arrived several times after the curfew and taxis were waiting to take people home.

Who would have thought that the news from Iran would be the most hopeful reading experience of the day. Indeed, the whole year so far.

Zelenskyy: Russians are exploiting cold snap and trying to hit as many energy facilities as possible Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Russia is exploiting the freezing cold weather and attempting to strike as many Ukrainian energy facilities as possible. He added that it is of ...

I know there is a lot going on but it has largely fallen from the headlines that Russia is using the current freezing weather in Ukraine and attacks on power and heat infrastructure to try to freeze millions of civilians, a clear crime against humanity www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...

By the numbers: Mentions of 'peace' in Christmas and New Year's addresses, combined:
Zelenskyy: 32
Putin: 0

Zusammen mit der @bravery-ev.bsky.social startet heute ein wichtiger Fundraiser und ein neuer Meilenstein in der Ukraine Unterstützung. Zwei weitere gepanzerte Fahrzeuge müssen her: Einmal für die Medics in Pokrovsk und nochmals für Kherson.

bravery.berlin/waswirtun/ev...

You can do revolution once in this setting. But not twice.

It is also a matter of perspective. For millions of people the collapse of the Soviet Union was not anybody‘s fault but what they wanted and had demonstrated for. It is fascinating how we all are caught in the terminology of ‘catastrophe’, following Putin’s definition.