Russia
What did the Russians make of Francis Bacon?
The KGB might not have known much about modern art, but they knew what they liked. For instance, at what…
The phoney war: what’s really going on between Boris and Putin
It suits both Boris and Putin to pretend that Russia may invade Ukraine
The dangerous alliance between Russia and China
The growing alliance between Russia and China is something we shouldn’t lose sleep over, their long history of mutual suspicion…
Read: Tucker Carlson on Ukraine, ethno-nationalism and M&Ms
This week, Tucker Carlson spoke to Freddy Gray on the latest episode of Spectator TV. You can watch their conversation…
No one should celebrate the decline of America
Where is America? Like an old friend who hasn’t been in touch for years, you wonder if its silence is…
Eastern Europe's toxic relationship with Russia has left the EU divided
Joe Biden’s fatalistic statement this week that suggested a ‘minor incursion’ by Russia into Ukraine might be tolerated by the…
In the pipeline: would Germany side with Russia in a conflict?
Germany’s curious alliance with Russia
My new nickname for Putin
According to the new Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the Russians wish to ‘put at risk…
Haunted: the spectre of revolution is stalking Putin
The spectre of revolution is stalking Putin
Portrait of the week: No. 10’s garden party, Djokovic’s visa row and France’s vaccine protests
Home Boris Johnson admitted to attending evening drinks for about 40 staff in the garden of 10 Downing Street on…
Was the Kazakhstan uprising an attempted Jihadi takeover?
The Kazakh uprising is over. The stench of burnt-out vehicles and bombed out buildings in Kazakhstan’s most populous city and…
What the Russians thought of James Bond in the 1960s
Last year I wrote a piece about James Bond for the ‘Freelance’ column of the Times Literary Supplement. All true…
The genius of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker score
The enduring appeal of The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score is nothing less than the sound of Christmas
Is Vladimir Putin really willing to invade Ukraine?
Is Putin preparing to invade Ukraine? It certainly looks that way, with western intelligence agencies estimating this week that around…
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…
Britain's duty to the Black Sea
With Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s borders, the Black Sea is looking choppy. While that may seem to have little…
The art and science of Fabergé
From quartz to quince: Daisy Dunn on the art and science of Fabergé
Ukrainian annexation is already happening
Nato and the EU are fearing a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine. They have reason to be concerned, given that Russia…
Is Russia preparing to invade Ukraine?
I can still hear the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Just a mile or so from us, thousands of Russian troops…
Putin's plan for Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s message was as clear — and familiar — as his method. The Kremlin has begun another major build-up of troops…
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…
Cold War, hot planet
Chelyabinsk is one of the most polluted places in the world. On 29 September 1957, an explosion ripped through the…
Under deep suspicion in Beirut, Kim Philby still carried on regardless
The story of the Cambridge spies has been served up so often that it has become stale — too detailed,…
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…
