Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Caravaggio

My article on martyrdom down the ages – and reflections on Ukraine – published

here by The Fortnightly Review in May 2022.

And here is my poem for Shireen Abu Akleh, a martryr in my time.

More about Holodomor

I am also now protesting about the Royal Academy’s decision to mount a historical show on Ukrainian modernism. To being asked whether I therefore supported a foreign “invasion”, I felt it necessary to reply:

“This is not what happened, as you probably actually know -unless you only watch the BBC. Since the 2014 Maidan coup, the breakaway Russian regions in the East including Crimea voted by 96% to return to Russia. The large majority is Russian speaking. However the Nazi regime in Kiev constantly shelled, bombed and attacked those regions, and also prohibited speaking Russian or Russian education in the region. Biden’s son Hunter was paid millions as a fake employee of Burisma – the energy company run by oligarch Yanokovic and Zlochesky – sponsors also of the Banderite Asov brigade that Boris Johnson has just disgracefully welcomed to the commons. Yanocovic also sponsored Zelensky’s media career through his media holdings in the Ukraine and also his political career. The Russians began their special military operation to protect the ethnic Russian regions that had broken away. Banderite Nazism is rampant in Kiev. NATO is supporting these Banderites. Kiev is the most corrupt regime in Europe, involved in organ smuggling, prostitution, drugs and every sort of racket. Since the City of London is a haven for racketeers through its shell companies, the British public has been manipulated into thinking this is an invasion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Watch the Duran, watch Scott Ritter, watch any decent independent source of news and all this becomes glaringly apparent. Why do you think RT is banned in Britain? The NATO establishment is not afraid of lies. It is very afraid of the truth. Whether you agree with me or not, this is not the time for the Royal Academy to be seeming to be taking sides in a highly controversial issue.”

That what has happened in the Ukraine could also happen in the East – in countries such as the Philippines in particular – is well articulated by Brian Berletic at the New Atlas.