Ksenia Shmydkaya
@shmydkaya.bsky.social
Lecturer in Slavic and Russian studies at Tallinn University | Writing about interwar women, historical fiction, and radical knowledge
You know the bias that if a scholar's name is not clearly gendered people tend to assume it's a man? Well I have the opposite of that. I have just (accidently) discovered that a person I've been citing consistently for the last couple of years is, in fact, a man...
November 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM
You know the bias that if a scholar's name is not clearly gendered people tend to assume it's a man? Well I have the opposite of that. I have just (accidently) discovered that a person I've been citing consistently for the last couple of years is, in fact, a man...
This. Last Saturday I read an essay (handwritten in class) that connected Natalya Baranskaya's 'A Week Like Any Other' to the scandalous demographic study by Pere Sihtkapital from a couple of years ago – and cried tears of joy.
Every teacher knows that grading is the most tedious and hated aspect of the job; but once a while you stumble upon work so amazing, full of fantastic references, written by a 20 yo (exams at SciPo are handwritten so no AI), that it brings you back hope in doing what you do. 🥹
May 30, 2025 at 1:47 PM
This. Last Saturday I read an essay (handwritten in class) that connected Natalya Baranskaya's 'A Week Like Any Other' to the scandalous demographic study by Pere Sihtkapital from a couple of years ago – and cried tears of joy.
Reposted by Ksenia Shmydkaya
This.
Success in academia often has more to do with luck, patronage and the job market than “hard work”.
Good academics acknowledge this.
I worked hard, but I was in the right place at the right time on occasion. Historians far more talented than I have fallen between the cracks.
Good academics acknowledge this.
I worked hard, but I was in the right place at the right time on occasion. Historians far more talented than I have fallen between the cracks.
May 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
This.
A paper I am trying to work on provides me with a perfect summary of how it feels to work on this paper. (from Przybyszewska's letter, of course)
April 14, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A paper I am trying to work on provides me with a perfect summary of how it feels to work on this paper. (from Przybyszewska's letter, of course)
The day has finally arrived: I received not merely an essay but a draft of the BA thesis completely generated by AI, with hallucinated book titles and all. Not being an expert in those specific authors, I spent exciting 15 minutes searching for non-existent novels and poems and doubting my sanity.
February 12, 2025 at 8:48 AM
The day has finally arrived: I received not merely an essay but a draft of the BA thesis completely generated by AI, with hallucinated book titles and all. Not being an expert in those specific authors, I spent exciting 15 minutes searching for non-existent novels and poems and doubting my sanity.
Oh great: one more social media platform to distract me from writing.
November 14, 2023 at 12:24 PM
Oh great: one more social media platform to distract me from writing.