The Russian enigma
Nothing is certain in a country where the past is constantly rewritten, says Owen Matthews
A Russian visa ban would delight Putin
Do you hate Russia, or do you hate Putin? That’s the central question behind a current debate about whether to…
Putin’s grand illusions
Sanctions are working — whatever Russia says
Against the grain
Putin is holding Ukraine’s wheat exports to ransom
Cold Turkey
Why is Erdogan resisting Nato’s expansion?
Putin’s exodus
The fate of Russia’s émigrés
Cross to bear
Can Russia ever atone for Putin’s sins?
The middleman
Can Turkey’s President broker a peace deal?
Moscow Notebook
Things fall apart. Moscow friends call to say that I have to urgently send my 19-year-old son out of Russia.…
Putin’s rage
Despite western hopes, the Russian President won’t be easy to topple
Will western sanctions really hurt Putin?
Boris Johnson has announced that the UK will impose personal sanctions on Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov…
Putin’s echo chamber
Has the Russian President gone mad?
War games
Is Putin playing with the western press?
Their phoney war
It suits both Boris and Putin to pretend that Russia may invade Ukraine
Haunted
The spectre of revolution is stalking Putin
Worst of both worlds
The dangers of Nato’s Ukrainian policy
Russia syndrome
It’s easy to blame Putin for everything
Putin’s plan for Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s message was as clear — and familiar — as his method. The Kremlin has begun another major build-up of troops…
Letter from Rome
‘Excommunication,’ reads a stone plaque on the wall of the church of St Theodore in Rome, ‘and a fine of…
The mystery of Vladimir Putin’s mistresses
There’s an odd thing about 18-year old Luiza Rozova’s instagram feed. You can see photos of her breakfasts (sliced exotic…
The second-worst journey in the world
The epic story of the Antarctic voyage of the Belgica (1897-9) has all the ingredients of a truly glorious misadventure:…
Bear-baiting
Sanctions against Putin and his allies don’t work
Putin and Biden need one another
Does Joe Biden think that Putin is a killer? asked ABC host George Stephanopoulos. ‘Mmm-hmm, I do,’ answered the President.…
Russian count
Putin’s hidden Covid deaths
No regrets
Kim Philby once remarked to the journalist Murray Sayle that ‘to betray, you must first belong. I never belonged’. Kim,…
