Elizabeth AyerReally charming "topologists world map."
Forget size or position, this map *only* shows which countries border which other countries: http://tafc.space/qna/the-topologists-world-map/
Jamie MontgomerieHow did I have no idea until now that there was a (fairly large!) enclave of Russia on the Baltic Sea _completely surrounded_ by EU nations (Poland and Lithuania)!?
Buzz Andersen@th_in_gs Whoa, I had no idea either! I’ve been listening to a long podcast about Russian history that really emphasized the old empire’s historical quest for viable, ice-free seaports, so makes sense they’d try to hold that.
That whole Baltic region has such a fascinatingly complicated history of shifting ownership and influence.
Scott Perry@numist @th_in_gs The season of Mike Duncan’s Revolutions about the Russian Revolution https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/revolutions/id703889772
He starts with a pretty deep dive into a thousand years of Russian history. And when he gets into WWI and later the Russian Civil War, Poland and the Balkans start to become important.
@buzz I started it on the recommendation of Dmitri Alperovitch back on Twitter when this conflict started. It's a tough read for anyone with a shred of humanity in them, I should write a review.
@numist Yeah, one real takeaway of all for me has been how much Ukraine has always been a sort of geopolitical crossroads. Really puts today's conflict in context.