Brock Covington. The Disappearing Act by Maria Stepanova // Open Letters Review. February 17, 2026.

"Stepanova’s statements suggest that Russians are born and raised within the maw of terror and are thus inevitably shaped by it. Therefore, they become not only subsumed by the immensity and sheer force of their oppressive homeland, but also become accomplices or silent bystanders, feebly resisting in their poisoned native language. "