Can We Avoid Politics?

Can We Avoid Politics? is a 10-part series of 30-minute video essays exploring how post-Soviet Russian culture shaped today’s political reality — where fascism is rising, Russia wages war on Ukraine, and imperial narratives flourish.

By tracing cultural trends over the past 30 years — from apoliticism to hate toward minorities — the series reveals how propaganda extends far beyond state media. It argues that only by reconnecting culture and politics can we understand and resist these dangerous shifts.

The project is a collaboration between two leading voices in Russian cultural critique: Nika Vodvud, feminist video blogger with 60M+ views, and journalist George Birger, known for writing on Russian propaganda and politics in BuzzFeed News, Foreign Policy, and The New York Times.