Is Russian misogyny enabling sexual violence in Ukraine? Yes, argues a bestselling author

Much of the additional subject matter – such as the status of women in the Soviet Union, or the history of state propaganda in Russia – is given only cursory treatment. Oksanen asserts in the book’s opening pages that, for many Estonians, “the war in Ukraine feels like a rehash of the 1940s, as if someone insists on pressing the replay button, because Russia is up to its old tricks”. The complexities of 20th-century Baltic and Finnish history – and the long shadow of the Soviet regime across this region – are reflected in the stories of Oksanen’s relatives and their negotiation of familial, national and Soviet allegiances.

Author: Iva Glisic, Honorary Research Fellow, School of Humanities, The University of Western Australia

---