An exploration of the image of ‘the mother’ in conflict, how her ordinariness has had an impact on public affairs, and whether she will re-appear in the current discourse battle over Ukraine.

In her article, Sofia Johanson takes us on a whistle-stop tour of ‘Ria Novosti’, a Russian state news website. In analysing the Kremlin’s artistic interpretations of the truth, parallels with the Second World War are drawn and we are reminded of the privilege we have in being able to access a range of unbiased news sources.