This Authoritarian Life explores how people experience, adapt to, and resist authoritarian politics in their everyday lives.
Each month, anthropologists Kristóf Szombati and Erdem Evren speak with guests from around the world to understand what authoritarianism looks like up close — and how it can be contested.
Group winner of the 2025 New Directions Award of the American Anthropological Association, TAL combines ethnographic insight with accessible storytelling to reveal the textures of life under authoritarian stress.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:
www.instagram.com/this_authoritarian_life
www.facebook.com/thisauthoritarianlife
Arkadij Lomonosov (a pseudonym we use to protect his identity) is a journalist and anti-fascist activist from Russia. He was based in Moscow until the sharp authoritarian turn in Russia following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine forced him to leave the country.