Anna Arutunyan

Writer. Formerly @CrisisGroup & @themoscownews. Author of Rebel Russia, Downfall (with Mark Galeotti), Hybrid Warriors & The Putin Mystique

[Adrian McKinty @adrianmckinty]

"Rule 1 on page 1 of the book of war is: do not march on Moscow." - Bernard Montgomery

people who tried:

Charles XII
Napoleon
Denikin
Hitler
Prigozhin

despite the above, this 👇 was a compelling read from @MarkGaleotti and @scrawnya 👍

[Marc Bennetts @marcbennetts1]

Seems like a well-researched report on the Starobilsk strike by a Ukrainian journalist.

"The willingness to deny human dignity to residents of the occupied territories is not patriotism. It is a replication of the logic Ukraine is fighting against."

https://t.co/FHXtp8k8q9

[Mark Galeotti @MarkGaleotti]

This is Ukraine's UN rep wanting "no reconciliation with Russia for centuries". In other words, future generations ought to be constrained by the (admittedly terrible) events of the present, and Russia should be encouraged to feel at permanent war with Ukraine. Appalling.

[Pavel Podvig @russianforces]

@DrUlrichKuehn I found this bit quite interesting - that there were clear assurances of this kind.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Yes, news has become political and therefore increasingly inaccurate - activism journalism dominates in a way that was not so widely accepted when I was starting my career 25 years ago, and I would argue it is this partisanship that makes misinformation the norm.

[Jeremy Morris again @postsocialismus]

Watch the 'big' accounts ignore reality (and Jonny's witness) in real time. Truly as Stahl wrote in 2006 there can be no definition of disinformation because what 'information' is is always a political concept.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

@postsocialismus To be fair, I think he is trying to describe a feeling that a lot of people have, even for soldiers fighting in pointless and illegal wars. What is cringe is his complete oblivion and inability to comprehend the fact that those on the other side could feel as he does.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Essential reading on Ukraine's current political landscape and climate from @BalazsJarabik. As often the case with serious and honest analysis, it will likely frustrate those looking for easy answers.

[Balazs Jarabik @BalazsJarabik]

Zaluzhnyi’s recent interview wasn’t just about the 2023 counteroffensive. It was about narrative and electoral timing. As Ukraine prepares for (possible) elections, shaping the history of the war may become as important as fighting it. My latest https://t.co/WvgMN0MyMq

[Dr. Zachary Paikin @zpaikin]

This from @MarkGaleotti needs to be read by all Western elites

[Jacob Reynolds @jacobreynolds]

One of the few books I have read that managed to convey and explain the roots of the strangeness of this war. Strongly recommend it.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Four years ago today, the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. My book, Hybrid Warriors, based on nearly a decade of reporting from Russia and Ukraine, traced how the conflict began in 2014 and why it led to war

[Hurst Publishers @HurstPublishers]

Before Mariupol, there was Donbas & Crimea. @scrawnya’s reportage in ‘Hybrid Warriors’ covers the pro-Russian insurgency and the war it sparked in eastern Ukraine.
‘Illuminating, well-researched.’ @FT

https://t.co/RZJjQGiaWM

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Always a pleasure to talk to @joshuachuminski. Challenging tropes about a special kind of submissive Russian "mentality," Rebel Russia explores a history shaped by rebellion and dissent. @politybooks

[The National Security Institute @MasonNatSec]

Season 2 Episode 6 - Rebel Russia: Dissent and Protest from the Tsars to Navalny with Anna Arutunyan - @joshuachuminski & @scrawnya discuss her book Rebel Russia: Dissent and Protest from the Tsars to Navalny to explore Russian history through the lens of rebellion and dissent.

Watch: https://t.co/cwGH02xmpJ
Listen: https://t.co/XKQ9C9rXY2
Or search "Coffee & Conflict" wherever you enjoy podcasts!

@MasonNatSec

#podcast #podcastsandvideos #nationalsecurity #foreignaffairs #Russia

[Hurst Publishers @HurstPublishers]

Before Mariupol, there was Donbas & Crimea. @scrawnya’s reportage in ‘Hybrid Warriors’ covers the pro-Russian insurgency and the war it sparked in eastern Ukraine.
‘Illuminating, well-researched.’ @FT

https://t.co/RZJjQGiaWM

[Mark Galeotti @MarkGaleotti]

No, Zelensky: World War Three hasn’t started
I get why Ze uses this line, but language matters, and not just for academic/pedantic reasons.
https://t.co/YoMVqwMQgB

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

@NeilPHauer I never said that. If you are going to twist my words there's really no point in discussing anything with you further. It's a shame, because I too respected your reporting. I wish you the best.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Mr. Zelensky's increasingly Trumpesque (Medvedesque?) profanity-ridden and borderline incoherent tweets are a novel form of diplomacy. I can only wish him lots of luck. (As an expert on Russians, Z also might want to decide whether Russia is an autocracy, or "they chose a Tsar.")

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I don't need historical shit to end this war and move to diplomacy. Because it's just a delay tactic. I read no less history books than Putin. And I learned a lot. I know more about his country than he knows about Ukraine. Simply because I have been to Russia – to many cities. And I knew a lot of people there. He has never been to Ukraine this many times. He was only in big cities. I went to small cities. From the northern part to the southern part. Everywhere. I know their mentality. That's why I don't want to lose time on all these things. It's about them. They decided to have such a system. The Russians decided to change themselves. The Russians decided that they needed a new Tsar. It's up to them.

But there is security. There is a big war waged against us. This is our lives. The only thing that I want to speak about with him is that I think that we need to resolve it in the most successful way. I mean to end this war quickly. That is why I want to speak only about such things.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

@NeilPHauer And on a strategic level, blaming all Russians in effect exculpates Putin and plays right into his propaganda. Over years, Zelensky's rhetoric has raised support for Putin and made it easier for him to mobilize support for his war against Ukraine. It's the opposite of diplomacy.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

@NeilPHauer By saying all Russians decided on a Tsar Zelensky is posting racist tropes to appeal to his nationalist base as he navigates an unwinnable negotiation process. It's understandable. It does not make it acceptable, and I am tired of it being normalized.

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

The questions only @MarkGaleotti can ask about my book, Rebel Russia, and how the government is forged in rebellions @politybooks

[Mark Galeotti @MarkGaleotti]

In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: Rebel Russia
Forget the cliché that Russians accept power without protest. I sit down with author and analyst @scrawnya to unpack a more complicated truth from her @PolityBooks book Rebel Russia. https://t.co/Ggpi2TQK9Y

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

Interesting compromise that would avoid Ukraine ceding land. As it is, alas, this conflict was never about the interests of the Ukrainian citizens living in these territories, either for Moscow or Kyiv (Kyiv made clear it didn't want civilian responsibility for ORDLOs in 2017)

[Almut Rochowanski @rochowanski]

@bohdanstasiuk1 As it happens, I have published about this:

https://t.co/2LMUsB3egu

[Anna Arutunyan @scrawnya]

@MrKevinRothrock @MarkGaleotti @postsocialismus Well you don't have to swim all the way across!