Welcome to DROK Academy!
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Hello & Welcome
Thank you for visiting. This is the professional digital home of Dr. Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov — educator, researcher, and community advocate. Here I share ideas, resources, and connect with colleagues, students, and community members who share a commitment to dignity and social good.
A Note on This Space
This website is grounded in values of respect, care, and constructive engagement. Visitors are welcome who approach this space, and the people connected to it, in that spirit.
I reserve the right to moderate access in order to maintain a safe and respectful environment for all. If you have questions about appropriate engagement, please reach out through the contact channels provided.
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There are moments in life when belonging doesn’t arrive as a document or a promise, but as a feeling that settles in your chest and says, this is home now. For me, one of those moments came on a January…
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Venezuela, U.S. intervention history, and why Latin America — and Ukraine’s allies — are reading this moment carefully
Preamble: Today’s events, travel, and what listening teaches Today’s news from Venezuela has landed heavily for many people — emotionally, politically, and personally. For me, it brought back memories of traveling through Panama in 2024, where conversations with locals quietly…
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 — 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟯1, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
Dear Stand with Ukraine supporters, As I sit down to write this final update of 2025, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude. You are one of approximately 700 people who receive these monthly messages—700 individuals and families across Kamloops, across…
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Day 1,403. Saturday #201. The last Saturday of 2025.
Kamloops stands with Ukraine. Today marked our 201st consecutive Saturday gathering near City Hall—almost four years of unwavering solidarity since February 24, 2022. None of us ever wanted to be here. We all know why we stand. And yet, we…
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Hope After Christmas: Ten Lessons from the Soviet Collapse and Ten Reasons for Hope Today
December 26, 2025 — 34 years since the fall of an empire Today marks the anniversary of one of history’s most significant moments. On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics—a superpower that had shaped global politics for…
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Thank You, Kamloops: Six Years of Light, Love, and Community
Thank You, Kamloops: Six Years of Light, Love, and Community As we enter the sixth year of the Kamloops Winter Holiday Lights Map, my heart is full of gratitude for this remarkable community. What began in 2020 as a small…
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From St. Nicholas Day to Your Bookshelf: Three Boxes of Ukrainian-Canadian Stories Seek Kamloops Homes
December 6th was a day filled with the warmth of community, tradition, and unexpected gifts. It began at our weekly Stand with Ukraine gathering—the space we have held faithfully every week since February 24, 2022, when Russia’s full-scale invasion changed…
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From Temporary Refuge to Permanent Home: Why Canada Must Create a Clear PR Pathway for CUAET Holders in Ukrainian
#PRforCUAET Вже вдома. Час це офіційно визнати. Визнання корінних народів: Ми з повагою визнаємо, що Канада побудована на традиційних, споконвічних і невідступлених територіях корінних народів — Перших Націй, інуїтів та метисів — які були охоронцями цієї землі з незапам’ятних часів.…
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From Temporary Refuge to Permanent Home: Why Canada Must Create a Clear PR Pathway for CUAET Holders
#PRforCUAET Already Home. Now Make It Official. Land Acknowledgment: We respectfully acknowledge that Canada is built on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Indigenous Peoples—the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis—who have been stewards of this land since time immemorial.…
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Postcards That Carry Courage: A Special Zoom Event
Postcards That Carry Courage: A Special Zoom Event Saturday, December 20, 2025 9:00 AM Pacific | 12:00 Noon Eastern Duration: Approximately 1 hour You’re warmly invited to join a virtual gathering with Helen and Jean-Michel, the founders of Postcards to the Front Canada—the organization…
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To Every Student Who Has Taught Me
A Prayer Built by 20 Years of Learning Together Human Rights Day – December 10th, 2025 Dr. Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov Over the past twenty years, I have had the privilege of teaching more than 7,000 students across five Canadian universities—from…
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Why I Sometimes Post About Beautiful Sunsets Instead of the War
When I travelled through Europe this year, the contrast broke something in me. When I spoke at the conferences with social workers from Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, people are preparing. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But you see it in how they…
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