How Free is Russian Poetry after 2022?

Following up on a premise that poetry in Russian has promoted freedom since at least 1989, this conversation will focus on the poetry written after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Poems to be read closely will include those that explicitly oppose the invasion and support Ukraine’s independence, as well as those whose rhetoric is indirect and densely figurative. Poetry that supports Russia’s war will not be included.

Stephanie Sandler is the Ernest E. Monrad Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University. Her most recent book is The Freest Speech in Russia: Poetry Unbound 1989–2022 (Princeton University Press, 2024) and she is a co-author of A History of Russian Literature (Oxford University Press, 2018).