Lefteast
Background In October 2019, a popular mass movement erupted all over central Iraq, eventually turning into what became known as the Tashrin uprising[1]. Under the slogan “We want a homeland” the impoverished Iraqi youth occupied squares in the centres of major Iraqi cities, expressing their strict refusal of the post-2003 institutionalized sectarian system. They demanded […]
On September 21, Putin announced “partial” mobilisation. What does it mean? Who are the most vulnerable to mobilisation? How does it affect civic infrastructures and women’s status? We asked a group of left activists, journalists, and sociologists from Russia, who have been running the anti-war media “Nevoina” (“Notowar”) since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. […]
In the 1960s (not the decade but the historical moment), new figures were simultaneously sighted in different parts of the world. Whether bardy in the Soviet Union, Liedermacher in East and West Germany, cantautori in Latin America or Italy, autor-compositeur-interprete in France, folk singers or singer-songwriters in North America, they brought together a new type […]
Kyrgyzstan is a product of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, born under the auspices of self-determination and a capitalist economy, in line with post-cold war’s end-of-history expectations. Among neighboring Central Asian countries, Kyrgyzstan is the only democracy in the region. Now, 31 years later, we see in this small and mountainous region the elementary […]
In her book -— Art Work: Invisible Labour and the Legacy of Yugoslav Socialism (University of Toronto, 2021), Katja Praznik counters the Western understanding of art – as a passion for self-expression and an activity done out of love, without any concern for its financial aspects – and instead builds a case for understanding art […]
From Foucault’s “docile bodies” to Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick” in the Wall, education has long been recognized as an inherently political institution that is intrinsically tied to the project of identity building. Schooling systems are not neutral and inclusion of any school subject in their curriculum can be used to diagnose social development. One of […]
LeftEast: What is your situation? How do you feel? Anna: I have been living in Tbilisi for several years, but had to return to Russia for family reasons. Of course, I was anxious and scared about what would happen next, whether I would be able to return to Tbilisi and what the situation would be […]
Interview with Serhii Guz, journalist and trade union activist from Ukraine LeftEast: Could you introduce yourself? My name is Serhiy Guz, I am 52 years old, and I have been working as a journalist and editor for 27 years. I am actively involved in public life. I was one of the founders and heads of […]
Brazilian politics have been polarized between Lula and Bolsonaro. The urgency to defeat the later has been evoked to close off critical thinking. However, Bolsonaro embodies social forces that will not go away with an electoral defeat while an eventual Lula comeback only in part responds to popular aspirations. In order to avoid illusions and […]
During her visit to Tehran with her family on September 13, Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, a 22-year-old from Kurdistan province, was arrested at the central metro station by the infamous “morality police” for ‘bad hijab’(wearing her headscarf slightly looser around her neck and head.) In a statement issued two days after her arrest, Tehran police said she suffered […]