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Alexander Etkind

@sashaetkind

Professor of CEU in Vienna. A historian who teaches IR and the Anthropocene, but mostly thinks and comments about the current war. I ban, with or without warning

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Latest posts by Alexander Etkind @sashaetkind

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OHPA Climate Obstruction and Cultural Prophecies Workshop

Tomorrow in Vienna or online: events.ceu.edu/2026-03-13/o...

12.03.2026 21:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Think and write, usually

12.03.2026 06:58 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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While politicians will be dealing with the consequences, memoirists and historians will be trying to argue their diverse positions on โ€œwhyโ€. Gradually they will reach a consensus. Textbooks will have it, and mems will emerge, and โ€œnever againโ€ will be making circles

12.03.2026 06:42 ๐Ÿ‘ 74 ๐Ÿ” 12 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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CNN: Kuwait, Iraq, and the UAE are shutting off wells as storage tanks overflow. Once these wells go dark, they cannot simply be flipped back on, creating a looming supply crater that would create a cascading effect on the global economy.
#ProudBlue #Pinks #SheShed #VoteOutRepublicans

11.03.2026 13:03 ๐Ÿ‘ 375 ๐Ÿ” 233 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 14 ๐Ÿ“Œ 8
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In the meantime, Dutch and Czech versions of my book have been published

11.03.2026 13:29 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Not great when the only people in the free world who believe and trust Vladimir Putinโ€™s word on critical things despite all evidence to the contrary are currently running the government of the United States.

11.03.2026 11:32 ๐Ÿ‘ 9424 ๐Ÿ” 2638 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 290 ๐Ÿ“Œ 93

Good morning and happy Wednesday to everyone. The problem with Trump jokes: Republicans donโ€™t think theyโ€™re funny, and Democrats donโ€™t think theyโ€™re jokes. ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ

To wit: "No other president can do the kind of shit I'm doing." ~Fat Satan

11.03.2026 11:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 193 ๐Ÿ” 65 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 56 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Have you seen Vladimir on Netflix? A dynamic and sensual show, I love the first episodes. An aging American lady develops a crushing dependence on a random guy called Vladimir. Thanks for readingโ€” now you have a better sense of the politics of the decade

10.03.2026 06:51 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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03.03.2026 07:22 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Will there be anything more stupid than Donald Trump wanting credit for stopping wars he started?

01.03.2026 04:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 1723 ๐Ÿ” 315 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 108 ๐Ÿ“Œ 10
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Reflections on the never-ending war inย Ukraine Lessons from Europeโ€™s deadliest conflict sinceย 1945

Few reflections, including mine

www.newstatesman.com/world/europe...

24.02.2026 22:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 30 ๐Ÿ” 11 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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24.02.2026 16:57 ๐Ÿ‘ 27 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...

www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...

18.02.2026 08:52 ๐Ÿ‘ 21 ๐Ÿ” 9 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Fyodor Lukyanov: Russiaโ€™s Place in the World โ€ข Stimson Center Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs, returns to the Trialogue at the start of an already-eventful year to take stock of Russian strategy amid dramatic U.S. intervention in Ven...

has written the House of Government, an idiosyncratic but revealing book about Stalinism and its ideologists. What a bitter irony www.stimson.org/2026/fyodor-...

18.02.2026 08:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Fedor Lukyanov is a mastermind of Russiaโ€™s self-justifications. In a recent interview, he said that Russiaโ€™s โ€œpositionโ€ has not changed. โ€œWeโ€ want a transformation of Ukrainian statehood. Trump is a model but he should do more for โ€œusโ€. The host is Peter Slezkine, whose father

18.02.2026 08:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 11 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Allegations in Epstein files may amount to 'crimes against humanity,' UN experts say Millions of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein suggest the existence of a "global criminal enterprise" that carried out acts meeting the legal threshold of crimes against humanity,...

A global criminal enterprise that carried out crimes against humanity. Inquiries should also be launched into how it was possible for such crimes to be committed for so long

www.reuters.com/world/allega...

18.02.2026 08:14 ๐Ÿ‘ 40 ๐Ÿ” 15 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Argentinaโ€™s economy is crashing after Trump gave Melei $20 billion. People are taking out loans for food. So he must mean He wants Orban to do well, not Hungary. This is some sort of payoff. America 2nd ๐Ÿฅˆ

17.02.2026 14:20 ๐Ÿ‘ 11 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Rubio to Orban in Budapest:

"We want this country to do well. It's in our national interest -- especially as long as you're the prime minister and the leader of this country."

Indecent and self-damaging policy that defeats any rational explanation, confirming the wildest of conspiracy theories

17.02.2026 04:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 81 ๐Ÿ” 16 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 7 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Anthropic cofounder says she doesn't regret her literature major โ€” and says AI will make humanities majors 'more important' Anthropic president Daniela Amodei said that, in the age of AI, we should "prize the things that make us human" โ€”ย like literature degrees.

Revenge of humanities? www.businessinsider.com/anthropic-pr...

17.02.2026 04:42 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The Guardian: In 2024, Trump urged 20 fossil fuel tycoons to stump up $1bn for his presidential campaign โ€“ while vowing to remove controls on the industry.

17.02.2026 04:23 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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โ€˜A quiet, creeping Russificationโ€™: the displacement of indigenous languages across Russia According to the 2020 census, almost all national languages lost speakers despite the demographic growth of the corresponding ethnic groups.

oc-media.org/a-quiet-cree...

09.02.2026 09:29 ๐Ÿ‘ 39 ๐Ÿ” 18 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
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Marc Bloch, historien et rรฉsistant juif, entrera au Panthรฉon le 23ย juin La date du 16ย juin avait รฉtรฉ dans un premier temps pressentie pour son entrรฉe au Panthรฉon, mais la cรฉrรฉmonie a dรป รชtre dรฉcalรฉe de quelques jours en raison du G7 ร  Evian-les-Bains.

Marc Bloch, historien et rรฉsistant juif, entrera au Panthรฉon le 23ย juin

08.02.2026 18:00 ๐Ÿ‘ 279 ๐Ÿ” 105 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 9 ๐Ÿ“Œ 20

Iโ€™m not a conspiracy theorist. But when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, there are a lot of things that remain objectively strange. A DOJ draft press release dated the day before his death, with the final version adding the phrase โ€œof an apparent suicide.โ€ 1/3

08.02.2026 05:38 ๐Ÿ‘ 3039 ๐Ÿ” 1004 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 165 ๐Ÿ“Œ 37
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Opinion | They Used to Rule the West. Now Theyโ€™re Dying.

โ€œTwentieth-century fascism found a welcome base in the security forces. Millions participate in widespread protests, but few believe that they lead to change. Evennwithout political parties, hyperpolitics will retain its power. True disorder may be just beginning.โ€ www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/o...

08.02.2026 08:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 9 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

07.02.2026 09:43 ๐Ÿ‘ 12 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

So many senseless choices are making sense in the light of the Epstein drama. But there is a limit to explaining politics this way. Epstein was a charmer but, for one, I am not enchanted. Whatโ€™s primary, gerontocracy or pedophilia? Capital or desire? Or, to formulate it personally, Trump or Epstein?

07.02.2026 08:41 ๐Ÿ‘ 8 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Yes

04.02.2026 11:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Oh yes, I do

03.02.2026 17:21 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Here is a real image, from an old Soviet film, with the very young Churkin (the future ambassador to the US and Epsteinโ€™s friend), with an actor playing Lenin

02.02.2026 08:23 ๐Ÿ‘ 10 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Again, best way to understand Epstein is to see him as a master of psychological manipulation. This art relies on construction of differences โ€” the interlocutor feels on the top but not quite, and climbing. It easily comes to narcissism, racism, machismo and then, a MAGA sort of delusion

02.02.2026 08:23 ๐Ÿ‘ 14 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0