What happens when a state fails
Beirut, Lebanon ‘You can still smell it in the wind,’ says Maria. She points out from the neon-lit bar along…
Turkey’s earthquake and the growing anger towards Erdogan
Istanbul, Turkey It’s Monday morning and Sam is late to work. The cafe he owns in a quiet residential area…
Has a Quran-burning protest ended Sweden’s Nato dream?
A crowd gathered outside Turkey’s embassy in Stockholm on Saturday afternoon to watch far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burn the Quran.…
The Istanbul bombing will deepen Turkey’s rift with the West
Istiklal Avenue is a picture of chaos at the best of times. Istanbul’s answer to Oxford Street, the bustling pedestrian…
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…
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…
Why Erdogan is now happy to snub Putin
Vladimir Putin’s first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the start of the Ukraine war was supposed to project…
Georgia’s unrequited love affair with Brussels is turning sour
The streets of Tbilisi were closed off just a few weeks ago for Independence Day, celebrating the day Georgia formally…
The death of Russian diplomacy
‘It’s like being part of a cult,’ explains one student of Russia’s elite diplomatic academy. ‘They expect us to learn…
Life in an age of hyperinflation
Istanbul, Turkey On Saturday mornings, Istanbul’s markets and greengrocers are packed with housewives in search of a bargain. Anxious women…
Could Russia invade Moldova?
Chișinău, Moldova Armed soldiers patrol the checkpoints along the road into Transnistria, standing guard under a giant Soviet hammer and…
Will Russia sink Le Pen?
Paris, France Marine Le Pen has changed her image. Five years ago, the veteran far-right leader lost her second bid…
The Northern Ireland elections could break the Union
Belfast, Northern Ireland Phillip Brett was just nine years old the night a neighbour called to say his brother, Gavin,…
Why Russians celebrate monsters
Nobody knows how long people live in Dzerzhinsk – life expectancy statistics for the Russian city, 250 miles east of…
Is Putin using chemical weapons in Ukraine?
In 1942, as Hitler’s forces swept through the Soviet Union, the Red Army went underground. Outside the city of Kerch…
The West is powerless in the face of Russian war crimes
‘Our home is our heart,’ a video posted by a couple from the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel begins, showing them…
Ukraine is witnessing the future of drone warfare
Russian forces have reportedly been ordered to watch last year’s state-funded propaganda film Sky. The Kremlin-funded drama follows the lives of Russian airmen…
Is Putin’s playbook finally being used against him?
Goris, Armenia ‘Where we deploy our own troops within our own borders is nobody’s business but our own,’ Kremlin press…
Is Putin's war spreading?
Yerevan, Armenia ‘This is our land,’ Anna says, looking out over her roadside flower shop. ‘Lenin promised it to us.’…
Turkish drones are transforming the war in Ukraine
Istanbul, Turkey A cheer rings out in a secret command centre. On the screen, another Russian missile launcher has vanished…
Could Turkey rejoin the West?
Istanbul, Turkey Wherever you go in Istanbul, Atatürk is rarely far away. Portraits of the man who founded the Turkish…
Can we trust our spies' claims about Russia?
In the Spring of 1988, the body of Britain’s most notorious Cold War spy was lowered into the ground at…
How the EU hardened its heart towards refugees
‘They wanted me to fight, and I knew I had toleave, or die.’ My translator, a former English teacher from…
Cold War, hot planet
Chelyabinsk is one of the most polluted places in the world. On 29 September 1957, an explosion ripped through the…
How will Europe respond to a wave of Afghan refugees?
On Tuesday, Franek Sterczewski made a break for the border. Wearing a long trench coat and carrying a blue plastic…
