In 2025, after more than three years of war and occupation in Ukraine, a much better question is this one: Why do Ukrainians resist Russia so fiercely?
Why do Russians do the things they do? Why, specifically, do they commit atrocities and reject democracy? It’s a question pondered by many terrific thinkers , writers, activists, analysts , diplomats, and so on. I have spent too much time on it myself .
In 2025, after more than three years of war and occupation in Ukraine, a much better question is this one: Why do Ukrainians resist Russia so fiercely?
Many of the answers can be found in Olia Hercules’s wonderful new memoir, Strong Roots, which examines Ukraine’s recent history through the prism of her relatives’ experiences.
Hercules is a celebrated, London-based chef and native of the Russian-occupied Kherson region, and food plays a central role in Strong Roots. It’s not a culinary history, however, but a story focused on sensation—the bright, vibrant feel of specific places, points in time, rich tastes, lists of ingredients that read like poetry.
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