Russia
How should the West respond to Putin’s threats?
How should the West respond to Putin’s threats?
The deathly malaise that’s crippling Russia
Now is a difficult time to empathise with Russians – which is why we need Maxim Osipov. We need him…
What Elon Musk doesn't get about peace
The power one person can hold should never be underestimated. They can take people’s lives, as Vladimir Putin does, or…
Putin at 70: How The Spectator has covered his life
Vladimir Putin turns 70 today. Since he became Prime Minister of Russia in 1999, some of The Spectator’s greatest contributors…
Why did North Korea fire a missile over Japan?
It was a new dawn, a new day, and a new North Korean missile test. The land of the morning…
Does Ukrainian exist?
After six months of war in Ukraine, most observers agree that the roots of Russian aggression lie in the country’s…
War has come home to Russia
Moscow A week of somewhat mixed messages from the Kremlin. One day Vladimir Putin opened Europe’s largest Ferris wheel…
Will Nato accept Ukraine?
Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky made an offer to Vladimir Putin. Ukraine would drop its ambition to…
Europe’s descent into deindustrialisation
The rapid economic collapse that Britain is facing is simply an accelerated version of what the whole of Europe is…
Did Russia sabotage its own pipelines?
It almost seems worthy of the opening scene in a Bond film. Vital Russian gas pipelines running beneath the Baltic Sea close…
Life among the Russian refuseniks
Yerevan, Armenia It was getting dark outside Yerevan Airport when I arrived, but there were still a dozen flights from Russia…
Was Nato expansion worth the risk?
This is an important and topical book. Mary Sarotte traces the difficult course of Russia’s relations with Europe and the…
Is this really the moment to scrap bankers’ bonuses?
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng – keen to sharpen the City’s competitive edge, we’re told – wants to remove the legislative cap,…
What's behind Putin's no-show?
Has Vladimir Putin carried out a cynical stunt, or ducked out of a seismic decision? That’s the debate among Kremlinologists…
More mad than Vlad: Russia’s ultra-nationalist threat
Putin’s most dangerous opposition comes from Russia’s ultra-nationalists
On the front lines of Europe’s newest war
Sotk, Armenia A group of Armenian soldiers stand guard on the road towards the village. ‘It’s not safe to go…
I’ve become a war addict
It is an almost unquestioned orthodoxy that war is hell, and that every needless death in a needless war diminishes…
Portrait of the week: Truss in, Johnson out and Nord Stream 1 off
Home Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street: ‘Boris Johnson delivered Brexit, the…
Why the Baltics fear Russia
In the historic heart of Riga, Latvia’s lively capital, there is a building that reveals why the Baltic States remain…
Will energy bills kill off working from home?
‘The jury’s out’, was Liz Truss’s pert response to the question ‘Macron: friend or foe?’ at last week’s Norwich hustings.…
The humanity of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev, the final President of the Soviet Union who died last night, was remarkable both as an international politician…
Gorbachev was no saint. But he was a kind of hero
Mikhail Gorbachev is dead at the age of 91, and in a way I feel orphaned. I became fascinated by…
It’s time to kickstart North Sea oil
It is reported this morning that one of Liz Truss’s first acts as prime minister, assuming she wins the Conservative…
Ukraine stuns Russia with a counter-offensive in Kherson region
The southern city of Kherson, which fell to Russian forces in the first few days of the war, is one…
Why Crimea could be key to Ukraine winning the war
Over the six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the ambitions of President Zelensky and his compatriots have only grown. From…
