What is The Words War?
The Words War is a newsletter trying to make sense of propaganda and news in the world after February 24, 2022 , when Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine.
This newsletter is written by me, Stas Olenchenko. Not all of my essays are strictly about Ukraine, but this newsletter is definitely shaped by my lived experience as a Ukrainian person living abroad, and a lot of my thoughts revolve around home.
Who is this Stas guy?
Hi, I’m a Kyiv-born/bred writer and content strategist based in Berlin.
By day, I’m a UX writer who helps startups and tech companies create world-class digital products (yes, I am on LinkedIn). I also used to be a low-key climate communicator: I co-hosted a Ukrainian podcast called Anthorocesho (it’s a wordplay, I’ll explain later) about the challenges presented by the climate crisis.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, I turned to my then-mighty Twitter audience of 200 people to raise awareness about what was happening in Ukraine. I have grown a decent readership on Twitter since then, having written about my bilingual Ukrainian experience, my participation in the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, democracy sleepwalking into a darker world, and other stuff.
In the first weeks of the invasion, together with my partner Maria, I co-founded Ukraine Explainers, a media project aimed to explain Ukraine’s culture, history, and politics to international audiences – and to tackle Russian propaganda narratives.
As Twitter was turning into a trashier place called X and much of what I had to say wasn’t really suited for quick, short-form formats of social media, I turned to Substack.
Is The Words War a free newsletter?
This is a free, readers-supported newsletter. This means you will start receiving my essays in your inbox once or twice a month as soon as you subscribe.
If you want to support my work or just say thanks, you can become a paid subscriber.
Here’s what a paid subscription gets you:
Big thanks from me (I’m dead serious, this means a lot!)
Becoming a founding member will allow you to request topics for future posts and start discussions
