Giorgio Comai
@giocomai.bsky.social
Researcher, data cruncher, #rstats
In my latest article - www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Ru... I explore how some of my own findings confirm the centrality of the ideological circles at the centre of Juliette Faure's excellent book,"The Rise of the Russian Hawks: Ideology and Politics from the Late Soviet Union to Putin’s #Russia"
The “Russian Hawks” and the Kremlin
Previously marginal revanchist intellectuals have been producing grandiose ideological theorisations, that are now at the core of state-sanctioned narratives legitimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine....
www.balcanicaucaso.org
September 19, 2025 at 1:31 PM
In my latest article - www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Ru... I explore how some of my own findings confirm the centrality of the ideological circles at the centre of Juliette Faure's excellent book,"The Rise of the Russian Hawks: Ideology and Politics from the Late Soviet Union to Putin’s #Russia"
"gli accordi di pace diventano ostaggi dei mutamenti geopolitici e rischiano di degenerare in un preludio a nuovi conflitti, sfollamenti di massa e guerre prolungate."
Ora anche in italiano su @balcanicaucaso.org l'importante contributo di @olesyavart.bsky.social
Ora anche in italiano su @balcanicaucaso.org l'importante contributo di @olesyavart.bsky.social
Il fallimento della missione russa di peacekeeping nel Caucaso meridionale evidenzia la necessità di mandati chiari e forti, sorretti da ampie garanzie e allineati ai principi internazionali. Diversamente si rischia la stessa sorte della piccola regione del Nagorno Karabakh che è sparita dalle mappe
Nagorno Karabakh, il fallimento dei peacekeeper russi
Il recente fallimento della missione russa di peacekeeping nel Caucaso meridionale evidenzia la necessità di mandati chiari e forti, sorretti da ampie garanzie e allineati ai principi internazionali.…
buff.ly
August 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
"gli accordi di pace diventano ostaggi dei mutamenti geopolitici e rischiano di degenerare in un preludio a nuovi conflitti, sfollamenti di massa e guerre prolungate."
Ora anche in italiano su @balcanicaucaso.org l'importante contributo di @olesyavart.bsky.social
Ora anche in italiano su @balcanicaucaso.org l'importante contributo di @olesyavart.bsky.social
Important (and timely!) contribution by Olesya Vartanyan:
> "Nagorno-Karabakh and the Collapse of Russia’s Peacekeeping Mission: What Weak Mandates and Absent Guarantees Can Teach Us"
blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/07/...
> "Nagorno-Karabakh and the Collapse of Russia’s Peacekeeping Mission: What Weak Mandates and Absent Guarantees Can Teach Us"
blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/07/...
Nagorno-Karabakh and the Collapse of Russia’s Peacekeeping Mission: What Weak Mandates and Absent Guarantees Can Teach Us - Conflict and Civicness Research Blog
The recent failure of Russia’s peacekeeping mission in the South Caucasus underscores the necessity of a clear and robust mandate backed by coalition guarantees and aligned with international principl...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
August 1, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Important (and timely!) contribution by Olesya Vartanyan:
> "Nagorno-Karabakh and the Collapse of Russia’s Peacekeeping Mission: What Weak Mandates and Absent Guarantees Can Teach Us"
blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/07/...
> "Nagorno-Karabakh and the Collapse of Russia’s Peacekeeping Mission: What Weak Mandates and Absent Guarantees Can Teach Us"
blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/07/...
Interesting quantitative approach by Novaya Gazeta, although data are not published along with the article:
> "Novaya Europe analysed almost 40,000 protests to see how Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed civil society"
novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
#Russia
> "Novaya Europe analysed almost 40,000 protests to see how Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed civil society"
novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
#Russia
Picking your battles. Novaya Europe analysed almost 40,000 protests to see how Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed civil society — Novaya Gazeta Europe
Why don’t Russians protest? Politicians, political scientists and sociologists have all asked the question since the war began. But while the Kremlin has a well-oiled repressive machine in place for d...
novayagazeta.eu
July 2, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Interesting quantitative approach by Novaya Gazeta, although data are not published along with the article:
> "Novaya Europe analysed almost 40,000 protests to see how Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed civil society"
novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
#Russia
> "Novaya Europe analysed almost 40,000 protests to see how Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed civil society"
novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
#Russia
Why there shouldn’t be expectations about any breakthrough in the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul?
In his famous Odnako programme on Russia’s First Channel, Leontyev explains:
#Russia
In his famous Odnako programme on Russia’s First Channel, Leontyev explains:
#Russia
May 30, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Why there shouldn’t be expectations about any breakthrough in the negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul?
In his famous Odnako programme on Russia’s First Channel, Leontyev explains:
#Russia
In his famous Odnako programme on Russia’s First Channel, Leontyev explains:
#Russia
What are the "root causes" of the conflict with Ukraine according to Russia?
My latest structured analysis shows that in Kremlin-speech as of early 2025 they do not effectively relate to Ukraine, but rather to the world order and Russia's place in it: tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0... #Russia
My latest structured analysis shows that in Kremlin-speech as of early 2025 they do not effectively relate to Ukraine, but rather to the world order and Russia's place in it: tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0... #Russia
Russia and the “root causes” of the conflict – tadadit.xyz
tadadit.xyz
May 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
What are the "root causes" of the conflict with Ukraine according to Russia?
My latest structured analysis shows that in Kremlin-speech as of early 2025 they do not effectively relate to Ukraine, but rather to the world order and Russia's place in it: tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0... #Russia
My latest structured analysis shows that in Kremlin-speech as of early 2025 they do not effectively relate to Ukraine, but rather to the world order and Russia's place in it: tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0... #Russia
As Romanians flock to the polls, time to bring back my quantitative analysis showing the incredible density of Romanian polling stations in Italy:
half of Italian residents could drive to a Romanian polling station in less than 35 minutes.
codebase.giorgiocomai.eu/2019/11/26/o... #Romania 🇷🇴
half of Italian residents could drive to a Romanian polling station in less than 35 minutes.
codebase.giorgiocomai.eu/2019/11/26/o... #Romania 🇷🇴
May 18, 2025 at 12:24 PM
As Romanians flock to the polls, time to bring back my quantitative analysis showing the incredible density of Romanian polling stations in Italy:
half of Italian residents could drive to a Romanian polling station in less than 35 minutes.
codebase.giorgiocomai.eu/2019/11/26/o... #Romania 🇷🇴
half of Italian residents could drive to a Romanian polling station in less than 35 minutes.
codebase.giorgiocomai.eu/2019/11/26/o... #Romania 🇷🇴
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
Nessun tipo di concessione unilaterale ucraina, men che meno territoriale, potrebbe risolvere quelle che Mosca considera le radici profonde del conflitto: ristabilire attraverso la guerra lo status della Russia sia a livello regionale che globale. Un’analisi
Perché Kyiv non può risolvere le “radici del conflitto”
Nessun tipo di concessione unilaterale ucraina, men che meno territoriale, potrebbe risolvere quelle che Mosca considera le radici profonde del conflitto: ristabilire attraverso la guerra lo status…
buff.ly
May 7, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Nessun tipo di concessione unilaterale ucraina, men che meno territoriale, potrebbe risolvere quelle che Mosca considera le radici profonde del conflitto: ristabilire attraverso la guerra lo status della Russia sia a livello regionale che globale. Un’analisi
"No amount of unilateral Ukrainian concessions would address what Russia considers the ‘root causes’ of the conflict."
My latest: www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Uk... #Ukraine #Russia
My latest: www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Uk... #Ukraine #Russia
Why Kyiv cannot possibly fix the ‘root causes’ of the conflict
No amount of unilateral Ukrainian concessions would address what Russia considers the ‘root causes’ of the conflict. An analysis
www.balcanicaucaso.org
May 7, 2025 at 9:21 AM
"No amount of unilateral Ukrainian concessions would address what Russia considers the ‘root causes’ of the conflict."
My latest: www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Uk... #Ukraine #Russia
My latest: www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Uk... #Ukraine #Russia
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
This is a really unique & rich longitudinal dataset on #corruption in #Ukraine, that allows for analyzing developments and trends over 1.5 decades! I recommend all scholars working on this topic checking this outstanding dataset 👇
#Corruption is one of the hot topics in #Ukraine. We are happy that the data of one of the most comprehensive corruption surveys is now available on Discuss Data: A merged dataset based on 8 surveys on corruption perception / experience / attitudes between 2007-2024: discuss-data.net/dataset/cf7e...
March 18, 2025 at 2:00 PM
This is a really unique & rich longitudinal dataset on #corruption in #Ukraine, that allows for analyzing developments and trends over 1.5 decades! I recommend all scholars working on this topic checking this outstanding dataset 👇
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
Package: `quackingllama`. Basically, a llama that quacks like a duck (or, more technically, a package that relies on `Ollama` for interacting with LLMs, and on DuckDB for caching results). - giocomai.github.io/quackingllama/ #rstats
Process text with Ollama, retrieve structured results, cache them locally in DuckDB.
Process text with Ollama, store results in DuckDB.
giocomai.github.io
March 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Package: `quackingllama`. Basically, a llama that quacks like a duck (or, more technically, a package that relies on `Ollama` for interacting with LLMs, and on DuckDB for caching results). - giocomai.github.io/quackingllama/ #rstats
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
New post, in which I indulge in exploring categorisation of text with open LLMs, and along the way incidentally develop an R package to facilitate relevant workflows.
Analysing Russian news via Telegram, processing them with open LLMs - tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0...
Analysing Russian news via Telegram, processing them with open LLMs - tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0...
Analysing Russian news via Telegram, processing them with open LLMs – tadadit.xyz
Testing alternatives for investigating public discourse.
tadadit.xyz
March 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
New post, in which I indulge in exploring categorisation of text with open LLMs, and along the way incidentally develop an R package to facilitate relevant workflows.
Analysing Russian news via Telegram, processing them with open LLMs - tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0...
Analysing Russian news via Telegram, processing them with open LLMs - tadadit.xyz/posts/2025-0...
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
Unfortunately, they didn't.
Months ago, in reference to the impending crisis in Transnistria, @bervent.bsky.social and I argued that "when buying time,it's important to make sure to use it wisely."
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Transnistria: when buying time, make sure to use it wisely
Russia’s gas subsidy – a key ingredient enabling Transnistria’s political economy – may remain in place for a couple more years, but its existence is based on increasingly shaky grounds. Chișinău is e...
www.balcanicaucaso.org
December 28, 2024 at 9:40 PM
Unfortunately, they didn't.
Months ago, in reference to the impending crisis in Transnistria, @bervent.bsky.social and I argued that "when buying time,it's important to make sure to use it wisely."
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Transnistria: when buying time, make sure to use it wisely
Russia’s gas subsidy – a key ingredient enabling Transnistria’s political economy – may remain in place for a couple more years, but its existence is based on increasingly shaky grounds. Chișinău is e...
www.balcanicaucaso.org
December 28, 2024 at 9:16 PM
Months ago, in reference to the impending crisis in Transnistria, @bervent.bsky.social and I argued that "when buying time,it's important to make sure to use it wisely."
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Step 1: buy time
Step 2: use it wisely
We focused on step 2, but step 1 is of the essence
www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Mo...
Pics from sessions I chaired at the #ASIAC annual conference on the Caucasus and Central Asia held at the University of Venice. Such a great conference... www.asiac.net/eventi/asiac...
And Venice is something else, really.
I'll see you all there in 2025, same location, same time of the year!
And Venice is something else, really.
I'll see you all there in 2025, same location, same time of the year!
December 11, 2024 at 1:07 PM
Pics from sessions I chaired at the #ASIAC annual conference on the Caucasus and Central Asia held at the University of Venice. Such a great conference... www.asiac.net/eventi/asiac...
And Venice is something else, really.
I'll see you all there in 2025, same location, same time of the year!
And Venice is something else, really.
I'll see you all there in 2025, same location, same time of the year!
News from Abkhazia: problems with paying salaries, energy crisis, closing schools one week early due to lack of heating apsnypress.info/ru/home/novo...
News from Transnistria: "state of economic emergency" declared
novostipmr.com/ru/news/24-1...
News from Transnistria: "state of economic emergency" declared
novostipmr.com/ru/news/24-1...
Бадра Гунба: мы держим ситуацию под контролем
Сухум. 9 декабря 2024. Апсныпресс. Вопросы выплаты заработной платы, обеспечения топливом, вызванные энергетическим кризисом, обсуждались на совещании, которое провел и.о. президента Бадра Гунба. И.о ...
apsnypress.info
December 9, 2024 at 11:55 PM
News from Abkhazia: problems with paying salaries, energy crisis, closing schools one week early due to lack of heating apsnypress.info/ru/home/novo...
News from Transnistria: "state of economic emergency" declared
novostipmr.com/ru/news/24-1...
News from Transnistria: "state of economic emergency" declared
novostipmr.com/ru/news/24-1...
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
Thank you, Giorgio, for archiving this huge data collection with Discuss Data!
Scholars working on / interested in official #Russian discourse: this unique data collection provides a rich source with lots of material!
The data is available here: discuss-data.net/dataset/0578...
Scholars working on / interested in official #Russian discourse: this unique data collection provides a rich source with lots of material!
The data is available here: discuss-data.net/dataset/0578...
November 28, 2024 at 9:41 AM
Thank you, Giorgio, for archiving this huge data collection with Discuss Data!
Scholars working on / interested in official #Russian discourse: this unique data collection provides a rich source with lots of material!
The data is available here: discuss-data.net/dataset/0578...
Scholars working on / interested in official #Russian discourse: this unique data collection provides a rich source with lots of material!
The data is available here: discuss-data.net/dataset/0578...
Highly recommended job opening for a data journalist at Deutsche Welle jobs.dw.com/Vacancies/22...
Small but growing team, great for #rstats folks.
Check out some of their work: dw.com/data
Small but growing team, great for #rstats folks.
Check out some of their work: dw.com/data
Deutsche Welle Job Offer: Data Journalist (f/m/d)
jobs.dw.com
November 28, 2024 at 9:33 AM
Highly recommended job opening for a data journalist at Deutsche Welle jobs.dw.com/Vacancies/22...
Small but growing team, great for #rstats folks.
Check out some of their work: dw.com/data
Small but growing team, great for #rstats folks.
Check out some of their work: dw.com/data
Reposted by Giorgio Comai
Belated announcement that I have finally released an openly-licensed collection of textual datasets extracted from Russia's main government websites.
Yearly update expected.
tadadit.xyz/posts/2024-1...
Yearly update expected.
tadadit.xyz/posts/2024-1...
November 27, 2024 at 10:07 AM
Belated announcement that I have finally released an openly-licensed collection of textual datasets extracted from Russia's main government websites.
Yearly update expected.
tadadit.xyz/posts/2024-1...
Yearly update expected.
tadadit.xyz/posts/2024-1...
Thrilled to finally share the programme of Asiac's annual conference. It's really fantastic to see such a great line-up of scholars who will be sharing their insights on the Caucasus and Central Asia.
See you in Venice in less than a month! en.asiac.net/2024/11/14/a...
See you in Venice in less than a month! en.asiac.net/2024/11/14/a...
November 14, 2024 at 4:57 PM
Thrilled to finally share the programme of Asiac's annual conference. It's really fantastic to see such a great line-up of scholars who will be sharing their insights on the Caucasus and Central Asia.
See you in Venice in less than a month! en.asiac.net/2024/11/14/a...
See you in Venice in less than a month! en.asiac.net/2024/11/14/a...
End of the year is near, yet no arrangements about provision of Russian gas to Transnistria are in place. In my latest, I argue that Tiraspol should assume responsibility, and that Chișinău and EU should consider how the status quo may soon become untenable www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
#Moldova
#Moldova
Transnistria Post-Ukraine Invasion: Economic Stability Over Security | ISPI
Without Russia’s gas subsidy, Transnistria faces the threat of an economic crisis and instability.
www.ispionline.it
November 14, 2024 at 9:31 AM
End of the year is near, yet no arrangements about provision of Russian gas to Transnistria are in place. In my latest, I argue that Tiraspol should assume responsibility, and that Chișinău and EU should consider how the status quo may soon become untenable www.ispionline.it/en/publicati...
#Moldova
#Moldova
Many important points in the recent Foreign Affairs piece by @gavinwilde.bsky.social et al. "Don’t Hype the Disinformation Threat" www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-fede...
Sharing some of the same concerns, here's a book chapter I wrote: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-... (open access)
Sharing some of the same concerns, here's a book chapter I wrote: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-... (open access)
Responding to Alleged Russian Interference by Focussing on the Vulnera
This chapter defines ‘Russian meddling’ as a distinct phenomenon that emerged at the time of the United States presidential elections in November 2016 based on
www.taylorfrancis.com
May 10, 2024 at 12:14 PM
Many important points in the recent Foreign Affairs piece by @gavinwilde.bsky.social et al. "Don’t Hype the Disinformation Threat" www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-fede...
Sharing some of the same concerns, here's a book chapter I wrote: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-... (open access)
Sharing some of the same concerns, here's a book chapter I wrote: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-... (open access)
New post out about Prigozhin's audio files, transcribed.
Post is methodological, but... if you read his spoken words transcribed and see just how unhinged his criticism of Russia's military leadership was, you may also understand how lack of rebuff was interpreted as support from the Kremlin.
Post is methodological, but... if you read his spoken words transcribed and see just how unhinged his criticism of Russia's military leadership was, you may also understand how lack of rebuff was interpreted as support from the Kremlin.
As Prigozhin’s messages are back in the news, here is a lengthy methodological post dedicated to the 400+ audio files that #Prigozhin posted before his mutiny in June 2023.
Full transcriptions provided, easy to read and download. tadadit.xyz/posts/2023-0...
Some quick results:
Full transcriptions provided, easy to read and download. tadadit.xyz/posts/2023-0...
Some quick results:
tadadit.xyz - From the ‘battle of Bakhmut’ to the ‘march of justice’: Prigozhin’s audio fi...
Prigozhin’s press service actively responds via Telegram to questions asked by journalists. Questions are mostly posted as screenshots, responses are mostly posted as audio messages, other posts inc...
tadadit.xyz
August 22, 2023 at 9:19 AM
New post out about Prigozhin's audio files, transcribed.
Post is methodological, but... if you read his spoken words transcribed and see just how unhinged his criticism of Russia's military leadership was, you may also understand how lack of rebuff was interpreted as support from the Kremlin.
Post is methodological, but... if you read his spoken words transcribed and see just how unhinged his criticism of Russia's military leadership was, you may also understand how lack of rebuff was interpreted as support from the Kremlin.