The article presents the journal’s special theme ‘Speed and acceleration in cultural anthropology’. It gives a glimpse of some of the contributions made to the topic by the authors, who have written extensively on the anthropology of movement, modernity and globalisation. Most of the articles in this section were written during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflect the global lockdown, slowdown, and other measures taken by the governments worldwide to stop the spread of the virus. © 2020 Tomsk State University. All rights reserved.