This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Abroad from the KU Centers for East Asian Studies and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies.

Following the shooting of a Russian jet near the Syrian border, Russia has continued to retaliate against Turkey, most recently by banning imports of Turkish produce and meat. This isn’t the first time Russia has gotten into a food fight with another country. Since 2014, Russia has embraced sanctions as a foreign policy tool, banning food imports from the European Union and United States over the Ukraine crisis. Pork tossed into incinerators, cheese bulldozed into the ground, and fruit buried in shallow graves are just some of the dramatic ways the Russian government has enforced its foreign policies. These actions have left many Russians wondering why so much is being destroyed in a country where millions of people live below the poverty line, and where the memories of Soviet-era famines are still fresh. Food for thought, isn’t it?

With thanks to Adrienne Landry for this text, from the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.