Putin
Haunted: the spectre of revolution is stalking Putin
The spectre of revolution is stalking Putin
No, Putin isn't trying to bring the Soviet Union back
On Christmas Day 1991, in his last act as president, Mikhail Gorbachev signed away the existence of the Union of…
The battle for Ukraine has already been lost
Forget the ‘commitment‘ of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Ukraine’s sovereignty, the EU’s ‘firm and decisive’ support, and…
Lukashenko and Putin are exploiting Europe's migration muddle
At the border of Belarus and Poland, camps of migrants wait for a chance to cross the border into the…
How Turkey is fuelling the Belarus-Poland migrant crisis
In the cold, damp forest lining the border between Poland and Belarus, thousands of refugees flown over from the Middle…
Is Russia ready for life after Putin?
When Russians headed to the polls last week, the Duma election results were never in doubt: Putin’s United Russiaparty won…
How Russia lurched from vaccine victory to Covid crisis
Russia made headlines last August when it triumphantly unveiled its pioneering coronavirus vaccine, Sputnik V. But now, nearly a year…
Why the Biden-Putin summit wasn't a waste of time
The meeting between U.S. president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Geneva started cordially enough. A quick handshake, toothy smiles…
Russian memoirs are prone to a particular form of angst
Perhaps the secret to understanding Russian history lies in its grammar: it lacks a pluperfect tense. In Latin, English and…
Why Lukashenko keeps getting away with it
The diversion of a Ryanair flight bound for Lithuania from Athens and the arrest of passenger Roman Protasevich – an…
Alexei Navalny's big gamble
Alexei Navalny seems to undergoing a metamorphosis. Yesterday, we saw him attending another trial by video, looking gaunt after 24…
The rules of Putin's game
What does Putin want? It’s more straightforward than you might think: usually the answer is ‘what he says’. It’s worth remembering…
Can Biden bring relations with Russia back from the brink?
Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a depressing assessment on the state of U.S.-Russia relations earlier this month. While holding…
The truth about Russia’s hidden Covid deaths
Putin’s hidden Covid deaths
Why autocracy in Russia always fails in the end
Churchill was wrong: Russia is neither a riddle nor an enigma. Russians themselves concoct endless stories to glorify their country’s…
Amnesty International has undermined Navalny's fight for freedom
In his fight against Putin, Alexei Navalny needs all the help he can get. The might of the Russian state…
Will Iron Felix scare Moscow’s protesters?
While in the West, the debate seems to be about which statue to topple next, in Russia it’s rather different.…
Biden vs Merkel: the battle over Russian gas is heating up
Russia’s influence on Germany is causing alarm
The sticky truth about Navalny
His courage is exhilarating. Even if you think his cause hopeless, Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and Putin-baiter, deserves…
Alexei Navalny is getting under the Kremlin's skin
Only half a year ago the opposition leader Alexei Navalny was a non-person on Russian state media, and Putin’s opulent…
Russians are daring to dream of life after Putin
Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition figure, demonstrated unfathomable courage in returning home after the Kremlin had poisoned him with Novichok.…
Navalny and Putin: the next chapter
Navalny’s return to Russia is brave – and provocative
Will Navalny's gamble backfire?
For years, Alexei Navalny had been – barely – tolerated by a Kremlin that was willing to permit very limited…
Alexei Navalny: a profile in courage
Vladimir Putin likes his opponents in exile: it makes them easier to portray as defectors who have turned their back…
Putin's New Year's resolution: survive
Even in tough times, Russia tends to put on a show to welcome the New Year, and 2020/21 is no…
