As Western sanctions seek to isolate Russia, they also perversely reinforce the country’s mythic view of itself as a special place that outsiders want to destroy.
While Netflix’s Bridgerton is both incredibly romantic and erotic, the reality is it’s estimated 1in 5 people in the Regency period in London had syphilis and other STIs.
From editors looking to ‘expose the false art of life’ to others taking up the cause of the marginalised, writers went anonymous to share their uncomfortable truths.
Gaining a deeper understanding of our shared history can allow for healing.
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Straight from our experts, here are five books to help you understand what’s happening right now in Ukraine and Russia, from a must-read history of Ukraine to a literary classic with insights into the Russian soul.
Josie Maralngurra touching her hand stencil made when she was around 12. In the background are three white barramundi fish figures with red line-work also created by her father Djimongurr.
Photograph by Fiona McKeague, copyright Parks Australia
National archive documents raise questions about how definitive British efforts to prevent arms transfers to Iran really were after the revolution that toppled the Shah.
Russian traditional wooden matryoshka dolls showing Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on sale in a street souvenir shop in Moscow.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
History always served as a weapon in the former Soviet Union, a way to control the narrative and deny the truth of the past. Vladimir Putin is now attempting to control this narrative through war.
Ukraine’s fight for independence can be traced to the 19th century when it was under the control of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. Ukrainians, then as now, believe they have an identity separate from Russia.
(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)