Sex, Lies, and Spectral Energies
This week, I came across a story so bizarre that not even its shocking headline could quite do it justice: “How an Unqualified Sex Worker Allegedly Infiltrated a Top Air Force Lab” (spare me the...
Author: Natalia Antonova
Natalia Antonova is a DC-based writer and editor
Under the fray, avoiding moral catastrophe
This week, NATO accession protocols for Finland and Sweden were signed at a ceremony in Brussels. Putin’s brutal attack on Ukraine has had a number of unintended consequences — and this is one of...
In memory of Roman Ratushniy
A few days ago, Ukrainian activist and soldier Roman Ratushniy was laid to rest in the city of my birth, Kyiv. Roman and I didn’t know each other, but my father knew him and spoke admiringly of his...
How surveillance and institutional rot made Michael Lowe a victim
The story of Michael Lowe — held in a filthy jail for 17 days after someone at American Airlines misidentified him as a shoplifter — should shock you and make you angry, but it should also serve...
Appeasement
The latest jerk to claim that Ukraine should give up territory in exchange for peace is noted war criminal Henry Kissinger — invited to speak at Davos for some reason, in a long and noble tradition...
Sergei Lavrov: Influential? Marginal? Unhinged
Years ago, Sergei Lavrov commanded some respect. As a career Russian diplomat he could always be scary, sure, but he was also once known for his humor and intelligence. Today, Russia’s foreign...
The Russian Leviathan of hatred
A Swedish-Russian woman, Eugenia Karlsson, became the internet’s latest target for public shaming after she was captured unleashing a horrific tirade on a Ukrainian in Stockholm: I don’t believe...
I found tragedy and inspiration in the same place
This week, I did a panel at George Washington University, hosted by the Organization of Slavic Studies. My co-panelists were career Ukrainian diplomat Kateryna Smagliy and prominent Ukrainian...
Can Roman Hrybov and Oksana Baulina both be my heroes?
Roman Hrybov, the Ukrainian border guard who famously told a Russian warship “go fuck yourself” on the first day of Russia’s shameful invasion of Ukraine is alive — and has received a medal....
Vacuous jealousy of Zelensky
The rapturious admiration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — who has more than risen to the occasion as Russia invaded his country — was always bound to inspire a backlash. The whole...