Dr. Daria Dergacheva is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Media and Communication Research (ZeMKI) at the University of Bremen, Germany. Her PhD at the Autonomous University of Barcelona was completed in 2021 and devoted to Russian state narratives on Twitter. She has also studied international journalism in the UK and worked in Russia-based international organizations and NGOs, such as the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and Open Russia. She has a vast experience in media, both as a journalist as well as an editor
Latest posts by Daria Dergacheva
‘How the fuck is it possible?': Russian rapper releases anti-war album
Vladi, a lead singer of popular rap music group, now prohibited in Russia, released a new album, “February Lasts and Lasts.” It describes how incomprehensible and horrifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine is.
Popular TikToker Nekoglai tells of torture by Russian police
The TikToker's example shows that videos with some political and oppositional content may be as popular among young audience as entertainment ones.
Twitter account “No Context Russia” is sad yet hilarious
A Twitter account shows images from Russia without context, portraying the country in sad and ironic tones.
‘I am not returning to this hell’: In the Russian North Caucasus, NGOs help victims of gender and LGBTQ+ violence to escape
NGOs in North Caucasus are buy tickets and provide other transport for people to escape violence, and assist with legal issues, housing, and medical needs. They need donations to continue.
In darkness but #withoutyou: How Moldova survives power cuts caused by Russia's bombing of Ukraine
After severe power blackouts due to the Russian bombing of Ukraine, more and more people in Moldova, even those who are considered pro-Russian, begin to look at Russia with bewilderment.
The European Union welcomed Ukrainian refugees on an unprecedented scale. What's next?
Costs of war are high for Ukraine but the majority of Ukrainian refugees still want to return. The EU needs to consider, what is going to happen to those that don’t.
Shallow grave: Putin’s dictatorship is slowly killing Russia's main opposition leader Navalny
Putin’s main critic and the Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, has survived an assassination attempt, but now the regime is slowly killing him by harshening prison conditions.
International money transfer routes are evaporating for Russians
There are fewer and fewer ways of continuing using global financial services for Russians, both at home and abroad, and the ordinary people are those who take the hardest hit.
‘We were born in a situation of hellish urgency’: How the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance Movement works
This grassroots, spontaneous movement has become the largest network in Russia for anti-war propaganda and assistance to refugees deported and persecuted by the authorities.
TikToker Nekoglai was deported from Moscow to Moldova with signs of torture
The “ritual of guilt and shame” has been increasingly used by the Russian police to publicly show the “remorse” and fear of those protesting
‘It is really difficult to see resistance when we don't see pictures of street protests': Interview with Belarusian activist Hanna Liubakova
Famous journalist in exile, Atlantic Council non-resident fellow and media trainer on what the country's opposition media needs to do when there are no visible protests in the dictatorship
Relatives of Russian drafted soldiers weep: ‘They were abandoned, like dogs…’
Relatives testify that recently drafted soldiers do not have food or water, cannot go back from a battle through Russian block posts, and cannot refuse to go to the front.
Is the European Union applying a practical visa policy on Russia? Interview with activist Almut Rochowanski
We hear a lot of Ukrainian civil society voices, but these are elite voices. For Belarusians, their revolution is still ongoing. For European foreign policy experts, the uprising is over, and it failed.
Lives, interrupted: The human cost of resistance in Belarus
Hanna Liubakova, an associated member of the Atlantic Council, journalist and media trainer, posted a Twitter thread about the most recent and most shocking cases of political prisoners in Belarus
Activists predict homophobic and transphobic violence in Russia, but most avenues of escape are slammed shut
The law on prohibiting "propaganda" from the LGBTQ+ community might trigger homophobic and transphobic violence. Time is running out, and the plea to help needs to be urgently heard.
‘Call them by their names’: Stories of Russian anti-war political prisoners
In March 2022 the Russian parliament passed amendments to the Russian Criminal Code allowing for real prison terms for an anti-war stance. Some people now face up to 10 years in prison.
Russian social media users now also want to say no to war while not actually saying it
Russians have to revert to language of allusions yet again if they want to continue anti-war resistance.
Ukrainians and Russians turn to Twitter memes about Elon Musk, but this time the tone is no longer humorous
Ukrainians, disappointed in Musk's "peace" proposal, are posting various, sometimes horrific, war scenes with the previously humorous sign "How do you like this, Elon Musk?"
The great escape from Russia: Live on Russian Twitter
An estimated 260,000 Russians, mostly men, have left their country since September 21 when President Putin declared a "partial mobilization," Most of the ones fleeing cross land borders to Georgia and Kazakhstan.
How Russians are protesting the war in Ukraine from a totalitarian state
Russian citizens have drawn graffiti, left objects on the streets, and found creative ways to voice their dissent under the constant threat of punishment.
Ukrainians use VKontakte marketplaces to inform Russians about the war
“Do you have a receipt for this jacket, Anya?” Ukrainian VK users are searching for items stolen from Bucha in Rubtsovsk online groups.
