Dr. Ian Garner

How do you get published in a journal like Post-Soviet Affairs? Over the next 4 days, our team is sharing advice based on the many submissions we read! First, Editor Tomila Lankina on originality, evidence, and the abstract. 👇🧵

The journal editor's despair to start another week

Delighted to announce the greatest achievement of my career

"Four and a half years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has conquered no more than a slice of Ukrainian territory. Half a million Russian soldiers are dead, the economy is running on fumes." Why won't they stop the bloodshed?

That’s a formal warning. If he does it again he’ll start to lose marks for the course.

“The Kremlin’s aim is not necessarily to win an election or this referendum in Switzerland,” explains @irgarner.bsky.social who spoke with Swissinfo before Sunday’s vote result was known. www.swissinfo.ch/eng/informat...

How does democracy function in wartime Ukraine? What constrains Zelensky's administration? Is there democratic accountability? Discover all in Pavlo Otamas' new article in Post-Soviet Affairs ⬇️

Why did Central Asian states bring home citizens linked to ISIS when so many other governments refused? Elena Zhirukhina's brand new article has the answer ⬇️❗️

"I bought a projector to read and review papers on the ceiling as I go to sleep" New academic productivity benchmark just dropped.

Criminals, state-sponsored groups, spyware vendors, scientists and propagandists have attempted to use Anthropic’s AI to design missiles and bombs, create deadly pathogens and surveil dissidents. We're so fucked, aren't we?

This was the point I emphasised about Palantir when I wrote about tech soverignty - their model is to make bits of the state dependent on them and them jack up the price. samf.substack.com/p/sovereignt...

We will look back on this period with shame. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/u...

Happy dog day, friends!

One from our archives, from 1993: "Russia, Ukraine, and the Imperial Legacy"

Why did Russia's "muscular mediation" in Nagorno-Karabakh fall flat? Check out this new article from Post-Soviet Affairs to find out ⬇️

The Jason Arday story is by no means the biggest scandal at Cambridge University. I'm sure the media is going to pick this up and run with it in just the same way ... Or is the exaggerated CV of one Black professor somehow more important than this?

This is 5-year-old Emilia and 10-year-old Sofia Dvornychenko, Russia killed them in a terrorists attack on girls own home in Sumy on August 4. 🕯💔 Russians struck the family's home with a guided aerial bomb, completely destroying it and killing two children…

Meanwhile in the Bad Place:

Some of my papers have been reviewed and are "Awaiting Recommendation" for so long I think the journal editors might be deceased

🤖 Russia has circulated an AI-generated video falsely claiming Ukraine struck a civilian gas station, in what Ukrainian officials describe as another disinformation campaign

‼️ Russian serviceman shoots fellow soldiers and civilians in Crimea: four killed

To sample 'A History of South Africa' by Thula Simpson, read here ➡️ tinyurl.com/yvz868ej

Springwatch icon, humanist, and probably the UK's best-loved birdwatcher, Bill Oddie, has died aged 85. Very sad. Thank you for a lifetime of helping us understand nature.

It’s really important that the #Vancouver Downtown Business Association, who were originally against bike-lanes, are now among their most vigourous supporters, because of ACTUAL EVIDENCE that they’re better for downtown business than any street parking they replaced. Safe bike-lanes mean business.

futurism.com/future-socie... lol

“Climate scientists appalled by politicians' refusal to accept responsibility as heatwave hits France… They say that years of warnings issued from scientists about the consequences of global warming have not been taken seriously.” #France #ClimateCrisis #UrbanHeat

In which I attempt to theorize slopaganda. TL;DR: it’s not looking good. legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/07/0...

It's too hot to write. I think my brain is on fire. And it's going to be almost 10 degrees hotter over the weekend.

It's the 10th anniversary of the dumbest moment in modern British history so let's celebrate some of the idiots who made it happen. First up ... Jacob Rees-Mogg and his promise of cheap food and wine... In fact food prices have increased some 12% as a direct result of Brexit (LSE) 1/5

The East German Uprising of 17 June 1953 was the first major revolt to take place in the Soviet Bloc. It almost succeeded in collapsing the system. ⌛️ Last chance to read this archive article for free buff.ly/L9mTYnP

Academics, I know you get lots of peer review requests, but please just press the "I can't do it" button so we can all move on quickly. Don't leave me hanging.

My favourite genre is dipshit white supremacist influencers visiting Warsaw - the most liberal, open, and diverse city in Poland - during Pride Month and commenting on how brilliant it is.

Check out our latest special issue, Russian Migrants’ Transnational Activism in Wartime 👇 Articles cover diaspora protest, violence, and political disengagement. Vital reading for scholars across disciplines.

"Declassified Intelligence," Tulsi Gabbard, Oil on Canvas, 2026

Tough life when your working day begins with a bath

Introduction to the Special Section on Youth and Russia’s War Against Ukraine: Youth, Selfhood, and the Generative Force of Russia’s War Against Ukraine by Ian Garner @irgarner.bsky.social and Allyson Edwards @allysonedwards1.bsky.social Free to access for one week! doi.org/10.1525/cpcs...