'Are you ready for war?' In my latest piece for @prospect_uk, I use Ukraine’s emergency bag—tryvozhna valizka—to explore what we as individuals and societies need to safeguard when we’re under threat. The article is free to access, but you may need to register (at no cost). 🔗👇

The big night is almost here! There’s still time to join us for this fun evening with a meaningful purpose. Book your tickets here: https://t.co/2OVL0JsIq7

Friends in Vienna, I’ll be speaking on this panel on 3 December. Do come along if you can! Details here: https://t.co/nOS4jmC8QP

Here’s a glimpse of the gorgeous view from my office, and a playful image of Lesia to keep me company. I’ll share more soon about the project I’ll be working on while I’m here. Watch this space.

It’s a real honour to have been invited to take up this fellowship, and I’m very much looking forward to meeting new people and getting involved with the IWM community. I’m especially delighted that the fellowship is named after one of my great heroes, Lesia Ukrainka. 2/3

Today is my first day as the Lesia Ukraїnka Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences / Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen (IWM), and I’ll be based in Vienna until the end of February. 1/3

In the lead up to Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainians shared lists of what should go into a tryvozhna valizka (an emergency bag). What would you put in yours? ✍🏼 @okhromeychuk https://t.co/ncoW7JvMFn

Olesya Khromeychuk has a wonderful essay about packing metaphorical emergency bags. "The word tryvoha in 🇺🇦 means both anxiety and alert ... I like to think of the tryvozhna valizka as a bag that helps us package our anxiety in a way that keeps us alert." https://t.co/zTNre9bs4S

‘This superficial engagement with Russian culture is insufficient to grasp that seeds of hatred of the Other can be found within its works, but it is apparently enough to inspire readiness for a rescue mission.’ Read on

‘Rarely does a public talk I participate in go by without someone asking how to save Russia. Russia, not Ukraine. The assumption seems to be that the country of Pushkin, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky must somehow be rescued from the evil that has befallen it.’ 1/2

In the lead up to Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainians shared lists of what should go into a tryvozhna valizka (an emergency bag). What would you put in yours? ✍🏼 @okhromeychuk https://t.co/ncoW7JvMFn

A vital lesson

For people in Europe, its better to learn this. And especially prepare for the situations with electricity, heating and water sabotage, which seems as a certain possibility — counting Russian sabotage against NHS, attacks on infrastructure in Poland, Cyber attacks, etc.

Thinking about this is a valuable lesson in self-knowledge for any of us.

https://t.co/7Q5l6JG342

In today’s Lightbulb, Prospect’s free daily newsletter, @arusbridger does a deep dive into the Prescott dossier and the BBC crisis. Plus: what would you put in your emergency bag in the event of war? @OKhromeychuk on what Ukrainians do. https://t.co/I2VD8yeyXF

What would you put in your emergency bag in case you had to flee, known in Ukrainian as a tryvozhna valizka? @OKhromeychuk writes movingly of preparing for war. https://t.co/ncoW7JvMFn

Join us for our Winter Fundraiser on 5 December at The Garden Cinema in Covent Garden! It’ll be a fun night, and you’ll be helping to support the work of the @Ukr_Institute. Today’s the final day for early bird tickets! Book here: https://t.co/2OVL0JsIq7

I’m looking forward to delivering a keynote address at this year’s Berlin Conference! Friends in Berlin, join us on 6 November at Französische Friedrichstadtkirche. Check out the full programme here: https://t.co/KEfofCElVi

This piece has been simmering inside me for a while. I’d like it to be the final text I write about my cancer journey, but, of course, the end is never truly the end. ‘The end is not the end. A portrait of a woman between endings’. Photo by Tabitha Soren. https://t.co/UcCv0GMQWG