What Children’s Dreams can tell us about our Societies (September 2015)

This blog was originally published in Huffington Post in September 2015: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/larisa-sotieva/what-childrens-dreams-can_b_8220304.html and is also available in Russian on this blog here: I love talking to children. They are so unaffected and they can tell you so much more about a society, and in a much more nuanced way, than famous politicians, experts, journalists, and …

As Conflict in Ukraine Continues – What of Chechnya? (June 2015)

This blog was originally published in Huffington post in June 2015: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/larisa-sotieva/ukraine-chechnya_b_7550550.html Recently, Russian socio-political discourse has been buzzing on a new topic, widely discussed in Russian society and by experts, but less so by the political elite and by international experts. The topic of discussion is rather significant and serious, and could mark the …

Of figs and boarding passes (November 2014)

In places like the Vladikavkaz market, informal communities who have no idea what NGOs are may prove themselves much stronger and more dynamic in the defence of their interests than the marginalised NGOs themselves, which Russia attacks in a Cervantian manner reminiscent of tilting at windmills.

Sochi Olympics – An Opportunity for Peace? (Feb 2014)

The Sochi Olympic Games are taking place in a region of tightly interwoven conflicts, the roots of which lie as much in contemporary military, political and social upheaval and the post-soviet geo-politics as in historical events and their various interpretations among different Russian and Caucasian populations...