Vladimir Putin
Europe is paying the price for its soft power delusion
For decades, Britain has, like the rest of Europe, clung to a deluded belief in soft power. Within minutes of…
Has the plague broken out in Russia?
On the evening of Friday October 2, Daria Shipilova, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute, died in a district…
Is Estonia really preparing for war with Russia?
“Prepare for war,” was the message from Estonian EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to the European Defence Agency last…
Was Putin planning to attack France, Italy and Spain?
Since CIA chief John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow in late August to meet with his Russian intelligence…
Ukraine is losing the war
Vladimir Putin has not changed his war aims a jot since 2022 and remains determined on fighting on. Donald Trump…
Is Europe brave enough to keep pointing the finger at Putin?
Just under a month after three drones were discovered in quick succession at Leipzig airport, the German government took the…
The great whataboutery delusion
If you live near the frontiers of acceptable opinion, as any thinking person must surely do, you quickly find that…
When does killing the enemy become murder?
When is extrajudicial killing just war by other means, and when does it become a state-sponsored act of terror? ‘We…
China has Russia over a barrel
Vladimir Putin just can’t keep away. Having visited Beijing in May on the heels of Donald Trump, it has been announced that…
Putin has lost touch with reality
As dark clouds of burning oil billow like thunderheads on the skyline of Moscow and black rain falls across the…
Chinese puzzle or matryoshka doll – the complexity of Sino-Russia relations
For centuries, the wary neighbours have been united mainly in their opposition to the West – but is there now a new dynamic between the global powers?
Forever war: will Zelensky and Putin be brought to an exhausted peace?
Volodymyr Zelensky stood proudly on the steps of 10 Downing Street this week, flanked by Sir Keir Starmer and the…
How Iran turned Trump’s propaganda against him
On 19 November 1941, King George and Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to Woburn Abbey, home of Britain’s covert propaganda…
Russia is relying on drones to bring it victory in Ukraine
Earlier this week, Ukraine was subjected to one of the largest aerial assaults by Russia since the start of Vladimir…
Is the West deserting Ukraine at precisely the wrong moment?
Moscow is coming under direct drone attack, the Russian economy is creaking, patriotic bloggers are ever more apocalyptic in their…
Russians no longer believe Putin’s war propaganda
A year ago, Russia marked the 9 May Victory Day celebration with a spectacular display of fireworks that lit up…
No, Russia is not on the verge of a coup
However much Western leaders inveigh against Russian disinformation (which, yes, is a real issue), we should never pretend this is…
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.…
