Putin
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…
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…
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
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…
Daria Dugina has become a martyr for Putin
There was something menacing yet vaguely absurd about the Tuesday memorial service held to commemorate the life and fascist times…
The stalemate in Ukraine won't last forever
Addressing the vexed question of who is winning the war in Ukraine, six months on, is a task to challenge…
Sanctions are working – whatever Putin says
Sanctions are working — whatever Russia says
Putin has Europe where he wants it
Have we reached the endgame of Vladimir Putin’s energy war against the West, the point at which he turns off…
Ukraine and Russia sign grain deal – what next?
This afternoon Kyiv and Moscow signed a UN-backed agreement to free up at least 20 million tons of grain from…
How Germany's energy crisis could hurt Britain
For now, Berlin can breathe a sigh of relief: after a ten-day shutdown for maintenance, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline…
The next PM must be ready for Putin
Westminster is understandably obsessed with the question of who makes the final two of the Tory leadership race, but today…
How Justin Trudeau caved to Putin
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the West was certain that its sanctions were worth the pain. But there always was a…
The forgotten history of Poland and Ukraine
Since the outbreak of war in February there has been an overwhelming focus on the historical links between Russia and…
Putin is no Peter the Great
Putin has a penchant for history, but only insofar it flatters him and his views. Last year, he gifted the…
‘Famine is part of Russia’s strategy’: Zelensky’s economic adviser on Putin’s tactics
President Zelensky’s economic adviser on the reality of Putin’s tactics
The West is watching the war in Ukraine like it's sport
Every time I hear a politician speak of Munich, I suspect that something is amiss. Last week, President Zelensky accused…
Could Putin be toppled? An interview with Richard Dearlove
The former head of MI6 on where Russia has gone wrong – and what happens next
Putin is repeating Emperor Vitellius’s mistakes
Given Putin’s less than triumphant operation in Chechnya, where the Russian army suffered catastrophic losses, it is hardly surprising that…
Sanction Gerhard Schröder
From the start of the war in Ukraine, the democratic world has shown striking unity in the economic boycott of…
Why Russian literature shouldn’t be cancelled
Russians must mobilise their own culture against Putin
Putin’s emperor complex
Did Vladimir Putin ever use his infamous ‘historical’ account of Russia-Ukraine relations to consider how Ukrainians might react to his…
Read: Vladimir Putin's victory day speech in full
The following is The Spectator’s translation of Putin’s speech for victory day 2022. Most respected citizens of Russia, dear veterans,…
What makes a ‘just’ war?
What is a just war? Those who, from St Augustine onwards, have debated the question usually begin with Cicero, the…
Ukraine, the Roman army and why morale matters
Commentators talk much about the morale of the Ukrainian troops and the edge that this has given them over the…
