Media complicity with Russian disinformation is shameful. Get the Russian viewpoint from Russian officials for reporting purposes so its nature is clear. Don't get it from 'independent' experts who are not independent. And Pekka Kallioniemi (@vatniksoup.bsky.social) can't catch them all. 7/

And he loves a label! He always uses his Royal Irish Academy and UCC affiliations, one more - vatnik - won't hurt. Are @ria.ie and @ucc.ie are happy with Kremlin funding? 6/

Can the Irish media now label him a 'foreign agent'? That's what Russia media would have to do to a Russian academic who'd taken money from the West. Roberts won't mind, such labelling results from a decision of Putin, and Putin, as Roberts has asserted several times, is a 'visionary'. 5/

Did he, like some other attendees get a jubilee medal "In Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of the Reunification of Crimea with Russia" from the head of the Parliament of the Republic of Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov? 4/

Was he comfortable listening to the greetings to the conference from one of its sponsors, Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign minister? 3/

The conference was sponsored by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the World Russian People's Council (the latter has called the war against Ukraine a 'holy war'). Did they pay for flights and accommodation? More? 2/

About what I was expecting to be honest, MAGA nonsense and anyone who knows better keeping their heads down.

Doubt they noticed before they suggested it, or took advice.

Russia seems to have rejected it which will probably be good enough for Trump

50% tariff on APSA membership now!

Pleasure, well written and a good read, balanced and learned. I will be pleased of my students read it.

Yeah, because of the electoral system and its encouragement of localism

Thank god