What is Russian Colonialism 101?

The first and only newsletter expanding Russian colonialism awareness from the Russian colonialism storyteller-in-chief. Originating from my Russian Colonialism 101 guidebook, here I amplify stories about the past and present of Russian colonialism, as well as about anti-colonial resistance.

As a Ukraine-born journalist, I’ve been mainstreaming global awareness about the crimes of Russian imperialism and colonialism for a decade now. Few paid attention. But two days before Russia once again invaded my ancestral homeland, I started a Twitter thread mapping every single instance of Russian invasions in the last one hundred years alone. I wanted to illustrate that the impending catastrophe in Ukraine is a centuries-long сopy-paste job by the Kremlin to enforce its colonial domination. And that it follows one simple algorithm. That thread became viral, reached tens of millions, and has been shared tens of thousands of times. It started a movement and has now expanded into an illustrated guidebook, a storytelling hub, a podcast, this newsletter, and a video explainer series.

❤️🖤 Who’s Maksym Eristavi?

Maksym Eristavi is a Ukraine-born journalist and writer. A self-described 'Russian colonialism storyteller in chief,' he champions global awareness about the Russian colonial legacy. This mission is personal: a mixed Ukrainian with Asian, Roma, and Georgian roots, several generations of his family suffered from genocides, assimilation, and identity erasure throughout centuries of Russian colonial rule. Eristavi has a two-decade journalism career behind his back that included championing mainstream English-language coverage of Eastern Europe by indigenous voices. He is the founder of Volya Hub, the first storytelling hub expanding public awareness about Russian colonialism, and a co-founder of #UkrainianSpaces, a multimedia hub that amplifies Ukrainian perspectives and decolonizes global Ukraine conversations. Eristavi also founded the largest network for independent journalism in Eastern Europe and pioneered queer representation in Eastern European media by remaining one of the few openly queer journalists in the region. His work and anti-colonial bridge-building made Eristavi a featured speaker at leading universities, many parliaments, and foreign ministries, including hearings at US Congress and the European Parliament. Find out more at maksymeristavi.com

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