Fiction, essays, travel writing and more.
The second of my two essays on Russia:
“Westerners must appreciate the abandon with which the Kremlin lies and stop being surprised by it. From the perspective of the Power Civilization, words are another weapon, and the tenancy to believe them and, even more so, act on them, is an exploitable weakness.”
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/a-look-at-russian-civilization-power-truth-trust-and-war
After visiting repeatedly, I moved to Ukraine from the United States in 2012. My parents had been born in Ukraine and taught me some of the language during my childhood in Queens, NY.
Being so close to Ukraine’s Maidan revolution and the subsequent Russian invasion gave me perspective on American perception of these events. The audacity and effectiveness of Russian propaganda has left me in utter awe. After two years of close observation, some strategies and motifs of Russian propaganda have become evident. Hopefully these lessons will lend some clarity on the information war which overlays the kinetic one. . . .
http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/nine-lessons-of-russian-propaganda
#MustRead by @Roman_Skaskiw on Russian propaganda/ #narratives in warfare in @smallwars at https://t.co/OybhSEDd3d
— T.S. Allen (@TS_Allen) March 30, 2016
Brilliant piece by @Roman_Skaskiw in @smallwars: “Nine Lessons of Russian Propaganda”https://t.co/6sSg5MG2g0
— Jakub Kalenský (@kalenskyj) March 30, 2016
Not exactly.
But long after my literal belief in the Bible waned, I’ve gained deep appreciation of what Christianity does for society. I believe in believing.
The second in a series of three novellas about the Iraq War is up on Amazon!
(fiction based on my experiences)
The second in a series of three novelette about the Iraq War. Television is about the day to day grind of combat operations, a mission to visit the parents of a civilian casualty, and the murky realities of war.
“This story shows us another side of war where routine and duty go side by side with tragedy and valor.” — Andrii Drozda, Literary Critic, LitAkcent
The first in a series of three novellas about the Iraq War is up on Amazon!
(fiction based on my experiences)
A novellette (~9000 words) about the Iraq War, and the exhilaration and heartbreak of leaving it behind, based on the author’s experience. The first in a series of three.
“An honest look at the everyday realities of war — a must read.”
– Nolan Peterson, conflict reporter, The Daily Signal
“Skaskiw’s story about a man coming home from Iraq mirrors Hemingway and Tolstoy’s stories about men dying. Convoy Home is almost intolerably sad, beautiful, honest, and true.”
– Adrian Bonenberger, author of Afghan Post
1. The Enlightenment is our foundation.
2. Equality is the new communism.
3. Status, not wealth.
4. We are mostly doing justification.
5. and 6. American libertarians have a bias, taking for granted the absence of organized external enemies. Historically, survival has been a collective effort, not an individual one.
7. Never speak about natural rights again, or if you do, realize it’s just shaming.
8. Strict private property is an anomaly created by violence.
9. Free-ride-a-tarianism.
10. The Non-Aggression Principle (NAP) is insufficient at best, and at worst, a tool for scoundrels.
http://dailyanarchist.com/2015/05/05/libertarianism-for-grownups-10-things-we-must-realize/
THE RATTLE OF SOVIET SKELETONS
Living in Ukraine, particularly since the poorly disguised Russian invasion began last April, has taught me a lot of what the Soviet Union must have been like.
Petty gangsters and vain nobodies are elevated to positions of power and status. When their Russian handlers disapprove of them, they are murdered in the street (like “Batman”), or simply vanish. Some have reappeared in Moscow doing interviews with Russian media.
Early in the Crimean invasion, a Tartar activist, Reshat Ametov, was kidnapped and his body was found covered with signs of torture. He died a painful, horrible death.
Early in the invasion of Donbas, a local, pro-Ukrainian politician, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped and his body found covered with signs of torture. The reason they lead with such savagery is spelled out in Lenin’s infamous 1918 hand-written hanging order: “Do it in such a fashion that for hundreds of kilometres around the people might see, tremble.”