Vladimir Putin
The chaotic truth about Russia’s internet blackouts
From the modern metropolises of Moscow and St. Petersburg to Arkhangelsk on the permafrosted northern coast and Khabarovsk on the…
Those who believe in liberalism must now fight for it
I’m conscious that, just as the easiest way to lose an argument is to mention Hitler, so the easiest way…
The Iran war is just what Putin’s depleted coffers need
Of all the parties watching the chaos in the Middle East unfold, one should be rubbing its hands together with…
‘More than half our squad were executed’: Inside Russia’s rotten army
The Russians are on the warpath – and Europe is Vladimir Putin’s next target. That was Sir Keir Starmer’s alarming…
Learning from history requires sophistication and skill
While the past can never provide ‘how to’ guides for the future, Odd Arne Westad makes some interesting comparisons between the balance of power pre-1914 and the present
The world after New START
When the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) expires tomorrow, the United States and Russia will, for the first…
Moldova has been saved from Russian influence, but at what cost?
The European Union, guardian and champion of democracy, rightly takes a dim view when ruling parties ban their opponents, refuse…
Believe it or not, Russia is great
I have been invited to Moscow by the Russian Orthodox patriarchate because the organiser is a fan of my podcast.…
Is the British Council really a ‘nest of espionage’?
I worked for nearly a decade at the British Council in East Asia. Every day, under the guise of teaching…
Where have all the upper-class Tories gone?
A currently fashionable conservatism is militantly against Ukraine and, by more cautious implication, pro-Russia. We who disagree are, I quote…
Putin’s trap: how Russia plans to split the western alliance
Though you wouldn’t know from the smiles around the table at the White House this week, a trap has been…
The real reason Trump’s Alaska summit matters
Donald Trump has never lacked confidence. ‘I’m here to get the thing over with,’ he said last week when announcing…
Has Zelensky become a liability?
Is Volodymyr Zelensky becoming a liability for the West and for his own country? We are entitled at least to…
Trump’s Alaska meeting is a gift for Putin
From the Kremlin’s point of view, holding a US-Russia summit in Anchorage, Alaska is an idea of fiendish brilliance. The…
Putin orders new offensive
‘You want a ceasefire? I want your death,’ said Russia’s chief propagandist Vladimir Soloviev during prime time television, the camera…
What does Putin want? Whatever he can get away with
The US general Mark Clark knew a thing or two about dealing with Russians. In the aftermath of the defeat…
Putin is outwitting Trump
In the incessant conflicts of life and politics, people who know what they want tend to win. That is why…
Does might make right?
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin both believe that might is right. The whole question fascinated the ancient Greeks. In his…
I’m a culture war addict
Reading Melissa Lawford’s excellent analysis in the Sunday Telegraph, ‘Putin can’t afford peace – Russia’s economy is hooked on war’,…
Trump is like Shakespeare’s Fool
President Trump’s role in relation to other countries resembles that of the Fool in Shakespeare. He provides a sort of…
The international criminal justice system was prejudiced from the start
Double standards have existed since its foundation in 1945, with the most powerful nations determining who should be held accountable for war crimes
Meet the western conservatives moving to Russia
Tofurious Maximus Crane was sitting in a barber’s chair in Moscow when he received the greatest news of his life.…
Ukraine’s Nato fantasy
Ukraine’s President Zelensky was in Downing Street last week – as well as Paris, Rome, Berlin and Dubrovnik – asking…
What’s the real aim of Ukraine’s Russian offensive?
On Monday morning, Vladimir Putin was briefed about Ukraine’s audacious invasion of Russian territory. With his military chiefs in front…
The new alliances dedicated to destroying democracy
Despite their diverse ideologies, autocracies in China, Iran, Russia and Latin America are increasingly collaborating to sabotage a rules-based international order
