Our network of research assistants in Central and Eastern Europe has been strengthening ties between scholars across the globe since 2019. We created our own research microcosm in which scholars from the US, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Russia, Belarus, Japan as well as other countries, help each other to access archival sources, take regional interviews and collect data while putting aside national differences and shrugging off political pressure.

We are a network of young scholars, and none of us yet comprehends how we will live in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To say that we are heartbroken is to say nothing. Our friends are hiding in bomb shelters and our peers find themselves in occupied territory. Our regular morning calls start with a single question: "Are you alive?" – a new "normal" that we hate.

This war has crystalized who we are. Our peers in Ukraine have stayed to defend their country. Our peers in Russia are being persecuted for their anti-war stance and have left the universities that expressed support for the invasion. More importantly, they are still talking to each other and haven't backed down from our mutual dream of creating a world where knowledge has no borders.

All our operations in all countries are running as usual. The war must stop! And research must go on!


Sincerely yours,
The Bridge Research Network Team