Російський колоніалізм

by Maksym Eristavi, Тетяна Родіонова (Translator)

Український журналіст Максим Еріставі протягом багатьох років просуває обговорення злочинів російського колоніалізму у публічному полі. За кілька днів до того, як рф розпочала повномасштабне вторгнення в Україну, автор запустив у своєму акаунті у твітері тред, у якому описував випадки російських колоніальних вторгнень протягом останніх ста років та ідентичні формули, за якими вони відбувалися. Відтоді публікація стала вірусною і дістала назву «матері всіх тредів про російський колоніалізм».

Разом із групою українських художниць та художників Еріставі створив ілюстрований кишеньковий путівник про 48 останніх вторгнень російського колоніалізму, аби популяризувати це знання для світового загалу.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ukraine, Russia, Politics

134 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2023

About the author

Maksym Eristavi is a Ukrainian journalist, writer, and author of award-winning “Russian Colonialism 101,” an illustrated guide to Russian colonial crimes. 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.

Reviews

[wow_42 · Rating 5 out of 5]

гарний довідничок (є посилання на джерела!) і нагадування, що росія імперія зла та терору.

не знаю чому люди у відгуках обурюються, що це погана книга, якщо буквально в описі зазначено, що це тред з твіттера Максима Еріставі, який зібрали під одну обкладинку з прекрасними ілюстраціями.

тому, самі розумієте, що історичний нон-фік ви не отримаєте.

на подарунок книга взагалі 1000/1000.

[Olha Boiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Це більше експонат для музею сучасного мистецтва чи книга для журнального столика. Не очікуйте від неї глибини історичного аналізу, а сприймайте як позицію.

[Yulia Kryval · Rating 4 out of 5]

*мем з Кучмою "Це ж було вже"* 🥲

Це книжка-реєстр, відповідно читається як довідник (тому й 4 зірки), але її треба мати і дарувати іншим (особливо іноземцям), шоб могти в будь-який момент рандомно відкритою сторінкою нагадати, яка ж рсія гнила і скільки мороку вона несе в цей світ за своєю гидкою методичкою і скільки корінних народів вона буквально стирала.

окрім ницості окупанта, не менш виразно підмічено і ницість міжнародної спільноти, зокрема Ліги Націй і інших "стурбованих" європейських країн, які закривали очі на російське свавілля.

хочеться підсумувати цитатою зі вступу:
"Українці - не єдиний народ, який протягом тривалого часу страждав від неспровокованої російської агресії та розкрадання земель. Однак ми віримо, що нам судилося розірвати це коло безкарного російського імперіалізму та колоніалізму." 💙💛

[All My Friends Are Fictional · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gaslight
Invade
Exterminate
As the international community looks the other way…
…
„The international community consents and allows the Russian empire to walk away emboldened for new colonial conquests.“
…
„One formula. Forty eight invasions. Millions of indigenous voices before us murdered or assimilated without telling their stories. Ruzzian colonial empire has been hiding in plain sight for centuries. We survived to unmask it. We survived to talk at the empire back.“

[Adomas Sliužinskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading. Concise exhibit list of cases of russian colonialism. Most are popularly unknown, and have been ignored by the international community.

[Iryna B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely critical book to start understanding the pattern of russian colonialism. Read it like a catalog to start your journey of learning more about the topic.

I think the author did a brilliant job pointing out exactly how every single invasion or case of settler colonialism is exactly the same:
1) gaslight (create a fictional narrative and force it from many angles),
2) invade (under a pretext of protection from violence, nationalists, or to protect russian speakers(that were either settler colonialists, or indigenous people that were russified with strict laws that prohibited local culture)),
3) and exterminate (violently murder millions and millions of people over the course of the last 300 years.)

The illustrations are simple and very fitting, and I love the cover. The qr code with all the sources is an amazing idea.

[Olha Vorozhko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Коротко, влучно, ідеально для простеження патерну російської колоніальної поведінки.

[Zygintas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirmas sakinys: Tą šaltą sausio šeštadienį Loreta Asanavičiūtė galėjo pasirinkti likti namie ilsėtis po dar vienos darbo savaitės siuvykloje.

Labai tikslus aprašymas vidiniame knygos aplankale ir goodreads'uose:
"Likus kelioms dienoms iki Rusijos plataus masto invazijos į Ukrainą, ukrainiečių žurnalistas Maksym Eristavi pradėjo Twitterio giją, ketindamas pavaizduoti visų Rusijos kolonijinės invazijos apraiškų per pastarąjį šimtmetį žemėlapį. Jo tikslas buvo atkreipti dėmesį į Rusijos kolonijinės elgsenos atsikartojimą skirtingose žemėse.
Manipuliavimas, ginkluotas įsiveržimas ir naikinimas – trys strategijos, kurių prisidengdama kintančiomis ideologinėmis etiketėmis Moskovija griebdavosi ir tebesigriebia savo kolonijiniam viešpatavimui erdvėje aplink Rusiją sustiprinti.
Knygos autoriaus Twitterio gija, pavadinta "visų Rusijos kolonializmui skirtų gijų motina", žaibiškai išplito, surinko dešimtis tūkstančių bendrinimų ir milijonus peržiūrų, buvo išversta į keletą kalbų, išplatinta kitais formatais. Atsispirdamas nuo šios gijos kartu su būriu ukrainiečių menininkų Maksym Eristavi 2023 m. sukūrė iliustruotą gidą – Rusijos kolonializmo ABC. Jame aprašomi 48 vėliausi Rusijos invazijos atvejai ir atsikartojanti jų veiksmų seka.
Šis gidas skirtas priminti apie milijonus autochtonų, kovojusių už laisvę ir demokratiją, ir paraginti garsiau kalbėti apie Rusijos kolonijinius nusikaltimus."

Labai mažoje knygoje (grynojo teksto būtų apie 100 puslapių, be to, leidinio formatas – kišeninis) labai trumpai apie kiekvieną tautą. Labai per trumpai, tačiau tai leidžia pamatyti atidirbtas schemas, kaip okupuoti kaimyną ir kaip išsisukti nuo atsakomybės. Ir tai tik apie laikus nuo 1911 m.

Gėda prisipažinti, kad kai kurių tautų suvereniteto naikinimo istorija man buvo visai nežinoma: Tanu Tuva, baškirai, kai kurios Centrinės Azijos tautos.

Puiki knyga kaip pradžia pasidomėti daugiau. Ir nepamiršti, ką atneša rusijos kolonializmas.

Už idėją – 5/5. Tačiau norisi daugiau net ir tokiame tekste: bent jau rekomendacijų, ką dar paskaityti.

P. S. Prieš Trečiąjį pūnų karą romėnų senatorius Katonas Vyresnysis kiekvieną kalbą užbaigdavo fraze Carthago delenda est.

4.5/5✰

[Mykyta Ischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Нагадування, що ми зараз воюємо проти абсолютного зла, що несе смерть всюди, куди дотягнеться.

[Kristina mato ne špygą · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://matonespyga.wordpress.com/202...

[Samson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man findet echt noch zu wenige Bücher darüber.

[Blackcal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the idea, disliked the execution

---

russian colonialism 101 is, I think, a necessary book. No other colonialist empire has so few history books about its crimes (compare it to the number of books available on French or English colonialism or on American imperialism). I realised while reading this book how many crushed independences by russia there have been, so many places I haven't even heard of (especially on the Asian side). I also really loved the design and the drawings.

HOWEVER. I feel the topic is being shallowly treated in this book. I understand that it is meant to be a brief summary on the subject. I *really* understand the urgency of publishing it during the russian invasion of Ukraine, to show to the English-speaking world the systemic russian methodology of invasion, occupation and extermination all around its former colonies. But I find the one-page synthesis per country too short (even for a Wikipedia page). The repetition of the same crimes/same words across the pages, without proper historical and cultural context for each region/country, had the effect of numbing me down instead of making me care (and I really do care about this subject). I also felt that all the countries were viewed through a Ukrainian lens and cultural reading which doesn't always apply as easily everywhere, even for their neighbouring countries.
The conciseness invariably leads to historical shortcuts and inaccuracies, which at times seem borderline dishonest. The sloppiness in the "exhibits" about countries I know better then made me doubt the accuracy regarding the pages about countries/regions of which I don't know anything about, which is a shame because I believe a lot of effort has been put in this compilation.
Just to give a few examples :
On page 47, when talking about Lithuania, the author talks about the 1919 russian capture of Vilnius, but fails to mention that from 1920 it is occupied by Poland until WW2, which seems a bit deceitful (this subject is covered extensively in Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands).
When talking about the Republic of Moldova on page 39 : in 1917 "Russian empire regroups [...] and invades Moldova to "liberate" it. Romanians push Russians back but also take control over the young republic through formal "unification" [3]"
=> This is what I meant when I say some of the statements seem a bit light: Romania is here presented as another invader of the republic of Moldova (note the unification word between quotes). The source [3] regarding that sentence is a YouTube video. The unification is still a sensitive topic today and has been again discussed uninterruptedly since the fall of the URSS between the two countries, with citizens from both sides of the Prut having a 50/50 opinion towards it. When the author says that in 1917 Romania sort-of occupied Moldova it seems a bit inaccurate as Romania didn't exist as we know it in 1917. The name Romania was first adopted in 1862, after the first unification of Wallachia and the western side of Moldova (the side which is still in Romania today and where all my family comes from). Romania with the shape that we more or less know today has been founded after the second unification with Moldova in its entirety (western and eastern side of the Prut) and Transylvania, in 1918. There are of course dark areas during this reunification, be it with Transylvania or with Moldova, but I can't help feeling that the author projects a modern ukrainian view (as a transposition of russian occupation to "defend russophones") on a situation from over a century ago on a different country that cannot compare.
When later on the page, the author says "As part of a colonial pact with Nazi Germany, Russia reoccupies Moldova in 1940" or on the Romanian exhibit (page 69) "Russians murder thousands in ethnic cleansing and deport tens of thousands from annexed Northern Bukovyna and Moldova" : the issue I have here is that in reality, at the time, it wasn't russians exclusively doing all of this but soviets (which included Ukrainians). Of course Ukrainians had been forced against their will to be part of the USSR, but from a Romanian point of view what different does it make when it is soviet-Ukrainians or soviet-russians occupying your territory ? Seems a bit over-simplistic to pin it exclusively on one group.
Also, still on the Romania exhibit, nowhere does it say that Romania was actually allied to Nazi-Germany through its fascist leader marshall Antonescu. When reading it, it seems as if Moscow and Berlin are plotting above innocent Romania in 1940, but the story isn't so simple and I believe no CEE country was completely innocent during WW2.
This is why I think it is careless to oversimplify history, especially in central and eastern Europe where borders have change so much during the 20th century and historic shortcuts like these can lead to bitter quarrels.

[Rūta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nieko nauja po saule: rusijos imperialistinės ambicijos reiškėsi plačiai ir prisidengiant tais pačiais pasiteisinimais. "Apginti" kažką, "apsisaugoti nuo įsiveržimo" reiškia žudymą, grobimą, naikinimą. Kažkur girdėtas ir raginimas "neprovokuoti rusijos".
Lakoniškus, bet informatyvius tekstus puikiai papildo iliustracijos.

[Bogdan Skaskiv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Від цього видання точно не варто очікувати ґрунтовної історичної праці. Це панорамний огляд російських злочинів ХХ і ХХІ століття, який сформувався у книгу з тредів Твіттера.

Попри це я би дуже хотів, щоб така книга була в мене на полиці, коли я зростав і вбирав у себе багато колоніального продукту, яким нас завжди "годувала" росія. І неодмінно потурбуюсь, щоб про такий легкий для читання та ознайомлення матеріал дізналось якомога більше українців (і не тільки).

[karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

поставлю 5 зірок бо я хочу цю книгу подарувати свому другу іноземцю тому сподіваюсь що він хоч так зрозуміє весь scope проблеми

[Rissana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to start unveiling the answer to “how come Russia is such a giant country”. Book covers just the last century or so, is beautifully written and provides catalog of methods used to colonize and destroy countries.

[Jara Romaniuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible and visually pleasing trip into colonial past and present of russia currently waging a genocidal war against Ukraine. Each case is illustrated by a Ukrainian artist. It’s a beautiful book that will help you understand the aggressor’s pathological genocidal behavior through numerous examples from the past.

[Justė]

This should be a required reading.

[Christina Herz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good source for familiarizing yourself with the topic of Russian colonialism. It also gives enough references/ articles to read more about the matter.

[Hannah Basmajian · Rating 3 out of 5]

the international community consents...good information but too brief. Combined with the repetition, it does not read well.

[aurora]

essential reading, they need to do a catalogue like this for every empire in the world

[смажений ананас · Rating 5 out of 5]

мабуть одна з найкращих книжок нон фікш : чітко, коротко, інформативно, а які ілюстрації 💓

[Jennifer J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this more as an artifact of current popular discourse about decolonization in Ukraine than as a reliable historical analysis. Through that frame, I found this pretty interesting.

[Gregor Sobinkovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russia is a mass grave of nations — a realization that bleeds open after reading Eristavi’s beautiful, yet terrifying account of Russian colonialism and genocide.

With alluring illustrations, blood-red bullet points, and underlined highlights, Eristavi’s original tweets unfold into a multilayered experience. The writing is terse and factual. The design is not decorative — the highlights point to history we ignored, the bullet points mark the wounds. You’re left to connect the dots and reckon with the grim, unlearned lessons that now haunt not only Ukraine, but every country where the imperial war continues — through disinformation campaigns and the funding of Trojan horse political parties, in places like Slovakia and Hungary.

As you read on, the dead begin to pile up. You mourn nations you never heard of. Their languages, that maybe will never be heard again. The atrocities unfold like a family recipe passed down through the Russian elite — systematic, deliberate, refined long before Putin or the Soviet Union. What emerges is not an exception, but an encyclopedia of Russia’s imperial franchise.

[Viktorija Semjonova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually beautiful book, with powerful illustrations. Clear, concise, factual, to the point. Well researched book on a difficult topic, aimed at educating people about russian colonialism and exposing the patterns of oppression, genocide, and aggression. I bought it for my workplace bookshelf, a necessary book for our times.

And I think the format works incredibly well. Listing atrocities, people, and places which suffered under and because of russian colonialism, exaggerates the effect and shows the magnitude of both evil and suffering, exposing the events for what they are, not badly managed mistakes but cold and calculated crimes against humanity, policies systematically implemented in places spanning thousands of kilometres as well as centuries. The message of the book is delivered clear and loud, "that partitioned, disarmed and decolonized russia is the only peace plan that will work".

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, concise and essential book about Russian history and the countries and people that neighbour it (many of who have been erased). It's a lovingly presented and laid out catalogue of 48 instances over 111 years of Russia invading, subjugating, consuming and erasing it's neighbours.

The author identifies and highlights the patterns of imperial infiltration, disinformation and control that lead up to the occupation and shows that these are well worn tactics that Russia has been using throughout the Tzarist - Soviet - Putin eras.

It is essential reading for anyone from a country not neighbouring Russia. The patterns of colonial behaviour it identifies are crucial to our understanding of Russia as a continually active imperial force throughout the last century and up to the present day - and beyond if not stopped.

We need to know Russian history to see what they are doing today and the threat they pose for tomorrow, read it and pass it on.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent VERY high-level and rather dry/impartial overview of all the invasions and genocides russia committed in it's different iterations (russian empire, USSR, modern-day russia) but it's by no way a comprehensive deep-dive into any of the invasions. Treat it as a jumping board -- I ended up googling the events from every chapter (except for Ukraine lol because I am **living** it) and diving deep into the history of each country to learn more.

However, it will help you understand the general methods russia is using through the centuries: invasion under false pretenses, settler colonialism, forced famine as a method of genocide, culture erasure, russification, kidnapping of children to bring them up "russian", mass murder of civilians, desire to expand the empire. This will turn you into a russophobe.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The international community consents’ broke my heart many times throughout this book. Chapter after chapter, you witness how the colonial, imperial, and harmful narratives used by russia have remained the same for centuries. This makes it even more sad to see russia's people falling for propaganda and the international community enabling it.

Note: This book is not an in-depth/comprehensive analysis of russia's invasions over the years. However, it can serve as a good starting point for those interested in learning more about russian colonialism.

[Eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept is brilliant and timely. Unfortunately, the book reads like a catalogue or a Wikipedia article: very dry and doesn't engage the reader's empathy. If the idea is to make people care about the injustices Russian colonialism continues to inflict then it would be helpful to make people actually feel something. There are some factual inaccuracies, which could have been ironed out before it went into print. The illustrations are fantastic.

[Miki · Rating 5 out of 5]

"How to occupy a neighbour and get away with it: an illustrated guide."

A concise and essential guide to the by now predictable methods the Russian colonial empire has used for centuries to invade and annihilate its neighbours. Poignant illustrations accompany each short chapter, featuring a long list of references and sources ("Exhibits") at the end of the book, along with a useful general map.

"The empire will fall"