Russia & Eastern Europe Knowledge Alliance

Tightened censorship in Russia. Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, censorship in Russia has tightened, not only on the press, but also on culture. Artists critical of the war and the Russian state are branded 'foreign agents'. Publishers, bookshops and libraries are considering no longer publishing, selling or lending the books of such foreign agents. Critical media and cultural channels have left the country and are increasingly hampered in their attempts to inform the homeland through popular platforms such as YouTube. Much, but not all, of the responsibility for this development lies with the man who was unexpectedly thrust into the presidency at the end of 1999 and who has since been steadily consolidating his own power base (and that of his closest associates) and the cultural and, by extension, general lack of freedom in Russia. This man is described in the latest novel by former Soviet dissident writer Viktor Yerofeyev as 'The Great Gopnik'. Yerofeyev, whose novels include the infamous "Russian Beauty" (1990) and "The Good Stalin" (2004), began work on his "horror comedy" before the war, but did not publish it until October 2024. On 13 February, the writer will be in Ghent to talk about the role of culture and literature in contemporary Russia. Everyone is welcome, but registration is obligatory. Everyone is also invited to submit questions for the author. These questions can then be addressed during the discussion.

Lecture by David Lewis, Department of Politics, University of Exeter Russia now occupies almost one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Quite little is known though about its actual post-2022 day-to-day rule and its occupation policies in these areas besides Crimea. In this talk, held on the occasion of the publishing of his book on the subject, professor David Lewis of the University of Exeter will explain how Russia seeks to subjugate and ‘re-format’ the occupied parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces through a mixture of violent repression, political engineering, collaborationism, economic coercion and propaganda. Lewis will elaborate on how Moscow attempts to create an ‘ersatz Novorossiya’ in areas where about half of the pre-war population fled to Western and Central Europe, Russia or non-occupied Ukraine, and where the remainders, though mostly hostile to the occupiers, face uncomfortable daily choices to survive under occupation. This event is organized by the Centre for Russian International Socio-Political and Economic Studies (CERISE) and the Conflict Research Group (CRG) of Ghent University. Admission is free but registration is required.