Russia’s war against Ukraine and Ukraine’s spirited defense of its sovereignty and independence have been framed in various ways over the years, including as a battle between democracy and autocracy and a geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West.
But another frame has been gaining currency recently to explain what we have been seeing, not just between Russia and Ukraine, but across the former Soviet space: colonialism and decolonization, as Europe’s last aspiring empire seeks to maintain control of its former imperial vassals.
How does an anti-colonial narrative help us understand Russia’s war against Ukraine and Moscow’s efforts to control the former Soviet space. On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Terrell Jermaine Starr, host and founder of Black Diplomats Media Group, who has reported extensively from wartime Ukraine as well as the Caucasus and Central Asia, and journalist Casey Michel, author of the books American Kleptocracy and Foreign Agents. Enjoy…
SHOW NOTES
The audio opening the podcast and the second segment came from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech to the German Bundestag on June 11, 2024. The full speech can be accessed here.
The translations of the clips are as follows:
“You can understand why we are fighting so hard against Russia’s attempts to divide us, divide Ukraine, why we are doing everything – absolutely everything – to prevent a wall between the parts of our country.”
“[Applause] No country should be doomed to have barbed wire tearing through its body for decades.”
Terell Jermaine Starr’s published work and media appearances can be accessed here. The Black Diplomats Podcast, YouTube channel, and Twitter feed can be accessed here. His Substsack can be accessed here. A writeup of Terell Jermaine Starr’s recent talk at Yale University, which was referenced on the podcast, can be accessed here. His recent talk at Harvard University can be viewed here.
Casey Michel’s published works can be accessed here. His article for The Atlantic, Decolonize Russia, can be accessed here. His article for Politico on the Russian slaughter of the indigenous peoples of Alaska can be accessed here. His article for The New Republic, “Russia’s Colonized Populations Can Do Without All the ‘Westsplaining,'” can be accessed here.