Recent articles on paid troll organizations in Russia haven’t surprised me – ’cause they’re not that recent a phenomenon (though lately, it seems, they are going after Western publications with a vengeance). The thing about a paid troll is that you can rationalize their actions. When I get messages that are apparently sincere in their utterContinue reading “In which I spend entirely too much time responding to the same damn argument creepy Ukraine crisis trolls ALWAYS make around here”
Author Archives: Natalia Antonova
Kiev’s brittle spring
I’m one of those people who can’t sing by herself. Someone else has to hit the first note for me. Two of my aunts are music instructors – one disabled, the other partially disabled these days – and they both say that it’s an issue of confidence, of being sure. As if that hidden first noteContinue reading “Kiev’s brittle spring”
Goodbye to The Moscow News: on riding off into the sunset yet again
“Again the well-worn saddle creaks, And the wind chills an old wound; Monsieur, where in the name of hell have you wound up? Can it be you can’t afford a bit of calm?” After nearly four years, I am leaving The Moscow News. Now that our owner, the RIA Novosti agency, has been liquidated, theContinue reading “Goodbye to The Moscow News: on riding off into the sunset yet again”
No, idiots, Belle Knox is not an “embarrassment” to Duke
Ever since the so-called “Duke porn star scandal” hit the headlines, random people have repeatedly asked me if I am “embarrassed” by it as a Duke alumna. The short answer is: “No.” The somewhat-longer answer is: “No, are you freaking kidding me/what the hell is wrong with you/are you for real?” Here are some things,Continue reading “No, idiots, Belle Knox is not an “embarrassment” to Duke”
In a Kiev that might as well have existed one thousand years ago
I realized that outside of time, the Kiev that exists today and the Kiev that existed a thousand years ago is the same. I also realized the other day that you need a glimmer of happiness inside you to be able to tell sad stories – so that you have perspective. The act of tellingContinue reading “In a Kiev that might as well have existed one thousand years ago”
Natalia A. 