It’s been beyond heartbreaking to watch political fabric unraveling across the eastern ends of European geographies, the so-called post-Soviet states, including places I used to consider home. What once was home has been blatantly stolen along with vast masses of land, freedoms and futures of many. Exhausted by the pandemic, we watched this escalating horror show of power, idiocracy, brutality, grief, paranoia, revelation of long-standing insidious plans, dishonour, incompetence, condolence & despair. These events shocked, devastated, humbled, silenced and turned into apathy many, including myself. I often find my mind pierced by the very idea that this war is still on, and the horrific memories of seeing what had been revealed — glimpses, shreds of evidence and testimonies.

Instinctively attempting to keep my sanity, my mind was going down the rabbit holes of thinking, making things and writing texts. This helped, it kept me occupied around the clock over these past couple of years. I felt muted by this horror show and couldn’t force myself to reveal anything of what kept me busy. In the light of ongoing events, all seemed futile. In fact, I barely could make myself see anyone but family for months.

A few sporadic conversations within my circles made me realise that many others felt the same way too. I then started noticing how networks and communities began dismantling, how borders became pronounced again, and how geographies became more limiting than used to be. Communities built through passions and curiosities I always considered to be incredibly precious entanglements of value. And I can’t stress enough how important I believe it is to preserve these networks — and to do so in contempt of someone’s efforts to burn the bridges that we built.

And after all, it’s good that we still have the holy World Wide Web, which I like to romanticise as the ultimate form of planetary peace project by its design. I remember how Alla Mitrofanova, a prominent cyber-feminist philosopher based in my native St. Petersburg, once voiced an idea that has since gotten stamped in my memory. In my own words, it goes as: if the internet was only to be built nowadays, we would most likely end up with a variety of intranets & extranets, with perhaps some bridges in between those, operating in a manner of national border control checkpoints.

What a dystopian projection, and yet so accurate. The internet we have is not ideal, its current state is corporate if not monopolised, and it’s got its own particular dynamic and narrative of power. And still, it was admittedly built during much better times. Good motives were welded into its protocol and egalitarian architecture with greater ease than if it was to be accomplished nowadays.

…With all that said, I’ll try to be around here and other places with thoughts and things more often. And also with my hopes to keep the networks breathing, communities continued, relationships extended, while distances contracted and borders blurred and faded. (-_-乂)