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| Russia's ‘post-imperial syndrome' A scholar's essay on the myths of Kremlin propaganda leads to dismissal, a smear campaign from critics, and (attempted) solidarity from colleagues |
| 2023-09-06 |
| [Meduza] Valery Garbuzov and his colleagues aren’t going quietly. Last week, after penning an essay about Russia’s "post-imperial syndrome" and the Putin regime’s reliance on anti-American myths, Garbuzov lost his job as the director of the U.S. and Canada Studies Institute at Russia’s Academy of Sciences. Roughly a week later, the institute’s staff issued a public statement in Garbuzov’s defense, published simultaneously with a second article about Kremlin propaganda. All three texts initially appeared in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, but the newspaper quickly unpublished the faculty’s letter without explanation. Meduza reviews what happened after a respected scholar accused Russia’s "ruling elite and the oligarchy integrated within it" of using propaganda to "retain power and property, indefinitely at any cost." Valery Garbuzov joined the U.S. and Canada Studies Institute (ISKRAN) in 2000 and became its director in 2016. The institute is considered one of Russia’s leading think tanks on U.S. matters, particularly during the Soviet period when it exerted significant influence on Moscow’s foreign policy. Today, ISKRAN employs more than 130 people, including 85 research experts. "By the founder’s decision," Garbuzov was replaced on September 1, 2023, by Sergey Kislitsyn, the 33-year-old head of the Center for the Study of Strategic Planning at the National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations. ISKRAN’s press service directly linked Garbuzov’s dismissal to his August 29 article, "On the Lost Illusions of a Bygone Era," published in Nezavisimaya Gazeta (a newspaper owned and run by Konstantin Remchukov, who’s worked closely over the years with Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, managing his reelection campaign in 2018 and heading the city’s Public Chamber since 2016). What did Garbuzov say in his contentious essay? Read the rest at the link |
| Posted by:Enver Slager8035 |
| #2 Given twenty+ years of NATO's eastward expansion, I'd question the term "anti-American myths". |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-09-06 12:31 |
| #1 So they are learning from America's Cancel Culture™. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-09-06 12:21 |