[Ura-list] Solidarity with Ukraine

Wed Mar 2 08:37:38 UTC 2022

Dear all,

I may be living in Germany now, but I have some understanding of what's
going on in Russia, so I'd like to clarify things in regard to Christofer's
(and everyone else's) assumptions.

Russia is diverse. I have many friends and colleagues in Moscow and St.
Petersburg who are linguists (Uralists or other). I have not yet heard of a
single person who would support Putin in this war. On the other hand, I
know many linguists who participated in protests and some who have been
detained. Those who are afraid to take to the streets are making their
position known by posting on social media and signing petitions. Actually,
the open letter that Johanna mentioned had disproportionately many
signatures from linguists, at least in the first few days. (I signed it
myself on Friday.) Also, many of them fear that institutions and scholars
outside Russia would consider every Russian complicit by definition and
would sever contacts and stop collaborations, even private ones, stop
accepting papers from Russian residents, etc. I know this is not true, but
I have already heard such opinions from multiple people (all of them have
never supported Putin). If some of you could privately reassure your
colleagues in Moscow and St. Petersburg that this is not the case, I would
really appreciate that.

That said, Russian propaganda is working extremely well. There are still
independent sources in Russian online, e.g. Meduza, but it requires
determination and, often, technical sophistication to find and read them.
Based on the latest surveys by Levada (the last independent Russian polling
organization, declared "foreign agent" by the authorities) and on anecdotal
evidence, I would say more than half of the population supports the war.
Even many Moscow-based linguists are telling me about fights with their
parents who watch TV and blame NATO and Ukraine for everything. I'm almost
sure Uralic-speaking regions are closer to the average than Moscow and St.
Petersburg. I don't know what the Uralists there think, but I'm afraid it's
more like Christopher describes it. I'm pretty sure I know those from there
who oppose the war, but I'm not sure about the rest.

Regarding the ways to help: At least here in Germany, Ukrainian communities
and individuals are collecting things like warm clothes, medications or
diapers, and sending them to the refugees in Poland and Ukraine with truck
drivers who head to the Polish-Ukrainian border. This exists in Hamburg,
and I've heard from people who did the same in Leipzig and Munich. You
could google Ukrainian organizations in your area and call them or just ask
around at the next demonstration to learn where you could donate something.

Best,
Timofey

ср, 2 мар. 2022 г. в 06:19, Johanna Laakso <johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at>:

> Dear all,
>
> just let me point out that I never claimed that "all Uralicists condemn"
> Putin's aggression against Ukraine. That was my – perhaps somewhat careless
> – rewording of the suggestion which I received from a colleague to whose
> e-mail I was reacting in the first place. The very reason why I started
> this discussion was that I'm NOT fully convinced of that and didn't like
> the idea of claiming it in the name of us all.
>
> I believe Jeremy has an important point here: for numerous reasons, we
> cannot expect that all our colleagues in Russia are willing or able to
> openly criticize the current regime under the circumstances of actual war.
> Speaking on behalf of "all Uralicists" in this situation might be
> counter-productive, as it would merely contribute to the re-establishment
> of the iron curtain which is already dividing our field as well.
>
> What we can do, in my view, is to join, endorse and disseminate the
> numerous petitions and statements already published throughout the world
> (also by the home institutions of many of us), and continue discussing how
> in this situation we could support all those who are suffering from the war
> and the dictatorial regime which started it. And, in particular, what we
> can do to ensure international communication and cooperation in our field
> of research.
>
> Please feel free to react and to share your thoughts.
>
> Best
> Johanna
>
>
> MMJocelyne Fernandez <mmjocelynefern at gmail.com> kirjoitti 2.3.2022 kello
> 5.41:
>
> Dear all,
>
> Johanna's assertion that "all uralicists condemn" may be true, but it does
> not automatically imply that all of them want to express it. Which should
> not prevent us from adding our signatures to already existing initiatives.
> In France the protests against the Russian invasion are mixed up with our
> campaign for the President election (to happen in early April), i.e. mostly
> concentrated on denouncing the "extremist" (right and left) candidates who
> had shown some sympathy for Putin's government - or reproaching Macron his
> failure in trying to negotiate with Putin. Consequently, academic
> initiatives are rare, and I am ready to put my name on declarations from
> elsewhere.
>
> Thank you Johanna for sending us all this information, and Jeremy for
> remembering us of the word "moot", which I have always found somewhat
> ambiguous.
>
> MMJocelyne Fernandez
>
>
> Le 01/03/2022 à 23:46, Jeremy Bradley a écrit :
>
> Dear all,
>
> 1) I for one will absolutely put my name on any declaration there might
> be. My gut feeling right now is that none of us in the West will be wanting
> and getting visas to travel to Russia anyway as long as Putin lives as a
> free man, so previous concerns that being too openly outspoken might
> jeopardize my odds to get a visa are completely moot at this point.
>
> 2) As regards Christopher's point, I think we should be careful with what
> we expect from our colleagues in Russia. Given the complete crackdown on
> any illusion of freedom of expression happening right now, for Russia-based
> colleagues to express opinions running counter to Kremlin narratives can be
> genuinely dangerous, and ultimately not worth the risk. Even before things
> escalated people suspected FSB agents everywhere (rightfully so, I might
> add), and it was hard to judge what pro-Kremlin positions I've heard were
> genuinely held, or expressed "just in case". We can just hope friends and
> colleagues are on the right side of things, and if not, that the lies will
> become untenable in the days to come. (And if it's an opt-in declaration,
> the point becomes moot.)
>
> Best,
> Jeremy
>
>
>
> On 01/03/2022 23:16, Christopher Culver wrote:
>
> Johanna Laakso <johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at> writes:
>
> the Uralicists of the world strictly condemn Putin’s aggression
>
> Do they? Obviously a letter would draw signatures from those of us
> outside Russia with access to free media. But at least in past
> conflicts, I have only heard our colleagues in Russia support whatever
> narrative is being presented on Russian state television. What good is a
> collective letter from Uralicists where more than half of the scholars
> in our field are unlikely to be represented?
>
> Also, I imagine that some whose careers involve fieldwork would be
> worried about the harm this could do to their future prospects for being
> granted Russian visas.
>
> Christopher Culver
>
>
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> MMJocelyne FERNANDEZ(-VEST) Professor Emerita CNRS & Université Sorbonne
> Nouvelle
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> Univ.Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso
> Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und
> Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL)
> Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
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