Radio War Nerd EP #430 — Ukraine From Maidan To War, feat. Volodymyr Ishchenko
Guest: Volodymyr Ishchenko
Recorded: March 5, 2024
We talk to Ukrainian writer/researcher Volodymyr Ishchenko about Ukraine's terminal condition in the post-Soviet era, the material conditions driving Ukraine towards the abyss, and how the war serves Russia's ruling class interests.
Buy Volodymyr's book Towards The Abyss: Ukraine from Maidan to War (Verso).
Follow Volodymyr on Twitter.
Total time: 1:28:02
Direct link to this episode's mp3 here.
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Comments (25)
I think that's why it's called Climate and not Static.
Late to the conversation but maple trees need below freezing temperatures at night and then above zero temperatures during the day before the sap starts flowing. Historically, this happened during springtime but climate change has introduced erratic changes in temperature, such as a couple weeks of balmy weather followed by a few days of almost winter conditions. The trees can't "read" the signals and so the sap doesn't end up flowing. Many places in Quebec (and probably also Vermont and upstate New York) have a tradition of "sugar shacks" in the countryside that people travel to in order to eat foods made with maple syrup - not just pancakes but also cookies, candies, maple bacon, and so on. These places are having a hard time staying open and this will probably lead to a lost cultural tradition in the near future.
Yeah we have a lot of maple farms and sugar shacks here, had no idea how big NY is in the maple syrup industry. Some places are really fun for the kids, they get to tap trees, watch the sap flow, watch the sap being boiled down, see how early settlers and Natives made maple sugar bricks, etc. We didn't do it this year for the reasons you said.
I've been really critical of RWN's coverage of the Ukraine conflict since 2022. BUT I'm glad I stuck around for this incredible, insightful guest and the intelligent questions you put to him. A real tour de force.
Ishchenko highlights the fragmentation of the ruling (and subordinate) classes in the post-soviet space, preventing political consolidation. Which means Russia & Belarus could have ended up like Ukraine. Kind of makes tough leaders like Putin & Lukashenko putting their oligarchs on a short leash look like a very attractive alternative, in the absence of a strong Left, doesn't it? Who'd want to live in a Ukrainian style "democracy" in that case?
Unrelated to episode: Started reading Erdogan Pizza last couple days and it’s really stellar. I’ve only listened to the podcast for a couple years, John’s travel writing is deeply witty and entertaining.
Thank you!
Guys, you know I'm a big fan of your work, but this was one of your worst guests and poorest interviews. It was as if you did this show for yourselves and not for us. I learned nothing useful.
I enjoyed the guest, but even under the hypothetical that they did the article for themselves and not their membership, what's the issue? We're 430 episodes deep into a great series, let the Nerds do what they do xD
Link to the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/live/fijz2ICsTiI?si=B8GZjrk7pTmZOFWS
Livestream link https://www.youtube.com/live/fijz2ICsTiI?si=qJug5H0xV1jEAB6S
I feel like NYC is turning into Seattle. It feels like flooding and torrential downpour is likely to happen every few weeks.
Yes. Basically.
I thought it was to work the factories (what factories?) or maybe I didn’t want to know, but I saw a theory that Ukraine’s draft floor of 27 is because if 18-26 year olds die en masse, Ukraine dies as an ethnicity and nation because the demographics are so bad. And that is terrifying. Thinking back to the episode on the War of the Triple Alliance, and Paraguay losing 95% of its men and boys, I can absolutely see the maniacs running Ukraine doing something equally stupid to satisfy NATO’s lust for their blood and the desire to wage war against Russia to the last Ukrainian.
I can't really imagine anyone in this conflict being able or willing to sustain that level of casualties. The War of the Triple Alliance dragged on the way it did because Solano Lopez flatly refused to surrender, right up until he himself was killed. I don't know if I can imagine Zelenskyy facing a bunch of Russian troops, being told to give up, and responding by pulling out his gun and yelling "I die with my country!" I think he values the lives of his people more than Solano Lopez did, even if that's not saying much.
Volodymyr's New Left Review articles have also been very helpful for understanding the dynamics of the Ukrainian conflict. "Ukrainian Voices?" (December 2022) https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii138/articles/volodymyr-ishchenko-ukrainian-voices "Towards the Abyss" (April 2022) https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii133/articles/volodymyr-ishchenko-towards-the-abyss
"Warming planet, dying planet" Dude the planet is not dying! Please emancipate yourself from this malthusian doom narrative!
I Agree. I take climate change and the threat it poses to human wellbeing seriously, but life has thrived on earth in MUCH hotter climates. 3.8 billion years of evolutionary history and we've seen much hotter and much colder. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of species (animal and plant) which will struggle or die out due to anthropogenic climate change, but there will also be a lot which don't die and reorient to capitalize on the newly available niches.
I can’t wait for those home grown climate change Rochester mangoes and bananas!
And black flies big enough to carry a deer away
Great episode, these theoretical insights help understand the grim realities of war. Please, consider inviting Artemy Magun. He is a Russian scholar who focuses on the reactionary nature of recent revolutionary processes, so he might be a good compliment to Volodymyr. Here is Magun with Yasha and evgenia https://yasha.substack.com/p/negative-revolution-with-artemy-magun
At 14:30, what’s the book that he mentions?
I also missed the name of the book about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Can you please provide title.
Can you guys raise the volume just a tad on your uploads? I have trouble making out what you guys are saying when I listen and go for walks, and I don’t have this issue with music/other podcasts. Thanks! Great episode
I enjoyed my legal studies at Freie Universität