Polina Aronson

Lecturer in sociology, Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences

is a sociologist and the debate editor of openDemocracy Russia. She was born in St Petersburg and lives in Berlin, and is working on a book about perceptions of love in Russia and in the West.

X (FORMERLY TWITTER)

Written by Polina Aronson

A woman using a smartphone on a train; colourful murals decorate the walls and an open laptop sits in her lap.

essayTechnology and the self

The quantified heart

Artificial intelligence promises ever more control over the highs and lows of our emotions. Uneasy? Perhaps you should be

Polina Aronson & Judith Duportail

Photo of a woman reflected in a mirror in a softly lit bedroom with paintings on the wall.

essayRituals and celebrations

Mrs Myself

Self-marriage promises love and fulfilment – but is it a radical act or a depressing concession to self-absorption?

Polina Aronson

A couple dressed in dark clothes, smiling and holding hands as they walk through stormy seas with crashing waves and a cloudy sky.

essayGender and identity

Romantic regimes

Love in the West is consumerist – we choose a partner to give us what we think we need. But Russians do things differently

Polina Aronson

Black and white photo showing people in heavy winter clothing gathering water from a small stream on a snowy street. Vehicles are in the background.

essayHistory

This is humankind

If my grandfather could survive the Siege of Leningrad and still distinguish between a German and a Nazi, so can I

Polina Aronson