‘Strong Roots’ Turns Cooking Into Resistance

Review

‘Strong Roots’ Turns Cooking Into Resistance

A memoir of Ukrainian cuisine seeks to preserve worlds threatened by Russia. September 19, 2025, 2:15 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Three people eat lunch by candlelight at a restaurant table.

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?

Why do Russians do the things they do? Why, specifically, do they commit atrocities and reject democracy? It’s a question