Vera Mironova
@vera_mironov
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Author of “From Freedom Fighters to Jihadists. Human Resources of Non State Armed Groups”(OUP). Affiliations @Harvard @MiddleEastInst and @ForeignPolicy .
Cambridge, MA
Joined August 2012
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Pinned Tweet
My book “Criminals, Nazis and Islamists. Competition for Power in Former Soviet Union Prisons” is out (with
@OxUniPress
)!
Could not believe I am an author of two academic books now !
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(1)
#Agdam
#NagornoKarabakh
, a town that in 1991 had 39,200 inhabitants! Under
#Armenia
control none was allowed inside but I was able to enter and film it in February 2020 (half a year before the war started)
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1K
3K
(4) Why is a
#Agdam
#NagornoKarabakh
so destroyed ? Because old stones, buildings were made of, were resold (even as recently as February 2020)
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Major riot in a Russia prison (1200 people) in Irkutsk. Prison burned down, inmates are shot with machine guns (300 special forces inside) and those who are inside cut their veins.
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780
(3) on some houses in
#Agdan
#NagornoKarabakh
one could still see evidences of previous life
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I worked in
#Srebrenitsa
. I worked in
#Iraq
and
#Syria
. I worked in
#Yemen
. Now I am in
#Ukraine
… is it just me or this “never again” sounds like a bad joke &absolutely the same thing happens again &again… and yet again international community fails to react on time.
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It is real ! My book is published and first copy just arrived to my home. Yes ! Yes! Yes! :)
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“Since Russian invasion in Ukraine, thirteen Russians working for FSB have been arrested illegally crossing into the US from Mexico,” US DHS sources said. They claimed to have been prosecuted in Russia for being journalists, activists and NGO workers.
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It is summer and taking shower on the frontline is a huge problem, so here is a
#Ukraine
made shower sponge. Yes, u could wash your whole body with this sponge and only 50ml of water !
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Russian propaganda is proud that “Unemployment rate in
#Russia
is on historically lowest level”, but it is actually bad news for Russia:
1) tons of people born is 1950th retired and are replaced by a tiny cohort born in 1990th
2) many educated folks left the country (and would…
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We are on lockdown-so if you still did not read my book on internal organization of ISIS and Al Nusra (based on hundreds of interviews with local and foreign fighters, my 9 month embed with ISOF in Mosul and my life with ISIS guys in hiding in Europe) it is great time to do so :)
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(1) Two mosques of
#Shusha
#NagornoKarabagh
(as seen in February 2020). One was destroyed and abandoned and one was restored and open to public.
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Last several months I spent with SBU counter intelligence unit, including on the frontline catching and arresting collaborators and
#Russian
solders hiding in forests (after their unit left them). If work of Ukraine military is visible, work of those guys is not.
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Last week
#Putin
visited
#Tajikistan
&asked them to: 1)recognize
#DNR
&
#LNR
2)help avoid sanctions 3)place
#Russia
mil on the border. Tajiks did not agree. Yesterday
#Taliban
gave
#Afghanistan
border region to AnsarAllah (anti-Tajikistan
#ISIS
)…Playing dirty now in Central Asia
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One of the alleged terrorists in
#MoscowAttack
during interrogation published by
#Russia
says that he got $2500 before the operation &was getting $2500 after.
It does not make sense…
#ISIS
folks do not expect to get out of such operation alive. They simply expect to die there.
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1. I spent last 5 days in
#Donbass
very frontline on forward operation. 4 days operation was successful &new position was taken (on our side several killed &several wounded). But it was absolutely terrifying not only from combat but from analytical point of view. 1/7
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Historical moment in Baghdad. T-wall separating “green zone” from “red zone” is being demolished.
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132
Not important, but I just want to mention that I am now in
#Ukraine
in my personal capacity. I took time off from work, canceling all not crucial tasks and travel - it could wait (although I am working with journalists here, it is only in my free time).
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Police blocked 5 km radius around prison camp. I talked to those familiar with the situation there and they said that in that prison guards regularly beat and tortured inmates and conflict started after another such incident.
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My 2d book cover is ready. Thank you Twitter for helping me pick a cover picture and
@OUPAcademic
for designing the cover!
Now have three weeks to finish edits of my 3d book while conducting fieldwork for my 4th book :)
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Youngest son of
#Syria
Bashar
#Assad
graduated today from
@MoscowStateUniv
with a degree in mathematics.
#Russia
propaganda channels are discussing it in context of soft power.
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(1) I just finished my 2d book "Rise and Fall of Radical Organizations; A 10 sq.m Prison Cell Experiment" about radicalization in prisons and relations between Islamists, Criminals and Neo Nazis there. It is based on hundreds of deep interviews with former inmates in ex-USSR.
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Another video from inside with wounded (who cut their veins): “we did everything we could do (self harm in protest), now police will get us and there is nothing else we could do. We are asking you to help us ! But letting more people know what is going on here”
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Another audio from insides. They are claiming that OMON ( police special forces ) burned the prison. The road from the prison camp to Irkutsk is closed now.
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Some counties that repatriated
#ISIS
female members also insist that we do not call them
#ISIS
because it stigmatizes them. Several of them were slave owners, but their social worker told me “U could not talk to them about it because it would bring bad memories.”
2 yrs after the military defeat of ISIS and still the majority of these terrorists don't face an international tribunal for their crimes and the ISIS women still today see themselves as the victims posting their stories on Baghouz.
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I found a number and called Kadirov recruiter in charge of
#Ukraine
. They are desperately looking for new volunteers. 2300 sign up bonus & 1K per month salary+ bonus after the end of war. I was also given a long speech about the importance of this war for Russia :)
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Since the beginning of the war in
#Ukraine
8 rockets felt on Mykolaiv zoo, that is close to the frontline. All animals are fine and staff stayed with them.
Obviously zoo is now closed to public and relies on donations to feed animals so please consider buying tickets online !
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Folks inside are saying that they have hundreds of wounded
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Everything in this prison happend as I predicted 2 weeks ago. 31 March prison authorities put prison on lockdown due to
#COVID19
, stopping all families and human rights organizations visits. Great opportunity for more abuses and torture :(
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My new article for Foreign Policy and I love the title "The New Face of Terrorism in 2019. Vera Mironova "
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“We are against the war”public letter started started by Lev Ponomorev in several hours was signed by 240K
#Russians
. The main goal is to show
#Putin
how many
#Russian
citizens are against the war
#RussiaUkraineConflict
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Today is my birthday and I still could not believe where I got in life. My grandmother never went to a sea although it was her dream and I already have been to Antarctica. My mom went outside Soviet Union when she was older than me now. And I not only visited around 100 countries…
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Life is getting back to
#Kharkiv
. After dating for 2,5 year, Valentin proposed to his girlfriend Kamila. “I want to do it now despite the war. War should not stop life!”, commented Valentin.
#Ukraine
#UkraineWar
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#ISIS
claimed responsibility for an attack in
#Indonesia
. A 19 years old ISIS member attacked policemen with a sword- one policeman killed, another wounded and police car is burned.
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I want to make it clear that, working with prisons for last 4 years,I am sure it is only beginning. Last week- a major riot of ISIS inmates in Syria, now Russia..situation is bad in prisons in non democratic countries and now with
#COVID
inmates have nothing to lose and will act!
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I have a (forthcoming) book on politics of prisons in former Soviet Union and prison riots .. it is true that at that point ( after cutting veins, and starting a riot) inmates could not do anything else and they are basically sitting ducks :(
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As a person who is very far from art/museums I would have never expected to participate in evacuation of paintings. But being an important part of
#Ukraine
culture they have to be safe.
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#Afghanistan
is under
#Taliban
now. The next country I am worried about is
#Uzbekistan
. 1) it is getting islamized as we speak (serious discussion about separate schools for boys and girls)& amnesty for
#ISIS
2) their security services are super weak (after old school folks left)
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I did it ! 🥳I submitted final edits of book
#2
to OUP &book
#3
to another UP for review. Despite my policy, in addition to academic, work I managed to finished 3 single authored books in 5 post PhD years! Yes, I am very proud of this (I think) polsci record :)
#AcademicTwitter
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#ISIS
operations in
#Iraq
are not individual attacks anymore. Only today (as of now) there were 3 different attacks. It feels like 2014 again and
#Iraq
is moving towards full scale war. Here are ISIS pictures from yesterday attacks.
#insurgency
#terrorism
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#Finland
did not prosecute even one
#ISIS
female member (although many of them are Very known for propaganda and are still supporting the group). And now they are back home, getting government welfare (and some were getting welfare while in Syria). Good job
#Finland
!
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I submitted my 3d book manuscript to the publisher (
@OUPAcademic
) ! It is 500 pages and took me 3 years to write (plus many more years to get to know folks I interviewed for the book).
I am very proud of myself. Despite taking a year off academic work to work in Ukraine in 2022…
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Dear
#polsci
grad students. If after lockdown you plan to do fieldwork in conflict zone/dangerous environments/prisons I would be happy to discuss ur research proposal with you (and hopefully be helpful :). Pls feel free to DM me !
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My new op-Ed
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Refugees are coming to
#Lviv
from all over
#Ukraine
. Volunteers organized humanitarian aid for them- food, clothes, food for pets, medicine. Aid comes from all over the world.
It is my 10th war I work in and I have never seen such huge &organized support!
#SupportUkraine
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I met with a father of an ISIS military Amir Umar Shishani. He is Christian, very poor, lives alone and misses USSR times.
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Я русская, доктор наук по военной политологии. Я знаю что меня читают/смотрят Российские Военные так что хотелось бы к ним обратиться.
PS: Да, я в курсе о новом законе о гос измене но в связи с тем что происходит в Украине сейчас меня это мало волнует.
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It is almost impossible to leave
#Kiev
now. Traffic is terrible and you could not buy train tickets anymore (even as early as this morning it was still possible). Problems with gas are also reported.
#Ukraine
#RussiaUkraineConflict
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Important video- very begining if the riot. Police Special Operation forces are entering prison camp and open automatic fire. You could also hear explosions ...
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#Wagner
asked
#Tajikistan
authorities to allow them to recruit inmates in Tajik prisons offering cash for each recruited one.
#Tajikistan
refused (according to their security sources). I am sure other Central Asia countries got the same offer &I am afraid some will accept.
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Contract with
@OUPAcademic
signed. Final book manuscript (after revisions) to be submitted this month, inshallah :)
As of right now…still on track to finish three academic press single authored books by the end of my 5th post PhD year!
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According to a local newspaper at least one prison guard is wounded and the ones who started the riot are 1) 32 years old, 3 years prison sentences for robbery (161) and 2) 41 years old, 13 years prison sentence for trying to kill a policeman (317)
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#ISIS
recruiter opinion on
#Taliban
control of
#Afghanistan
- we lost control of the territory we had and are hiding with locals now… but u should still come here to marry a local or
#Pakistani
because if u come with ur Western husband he will soon die anyways.
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7.Unfortunately (although for obvious reasons) journalists were not allowed with us but it is very important to talk about realities on the very frontline…even though it is very depressing. It is impossible to push
#Russia
back without major weapon systems supply from the West.
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Let’s not forget that
#Russia
used to recruit
#ISIS
folks from Central Asia to work abroad (in the
#West
and in
#Ukraine
) - our investigation for
@meduza_en
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Inmates say that the riot started because of this guy- he was beaten and chocked by prison guards last night and it was the last drop for everyone in that prison camp. Such events happend there regularly.
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Here is more about prison camp director... basically all prisons he worked in before had beating/torture/abuse problems but instead of being fired/arrested he was always promoted. Welcome to Russia :(
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(1) Today’s terrorist attack again perpetrated by a minor happened in
#Tatarstan
#Russia
. This 16 years old kid tried to set fire on a police car, stabbed a policeman with a knife (saying something about kaffirs and Allah Akbar) and was killed.
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