Russia
Europe’s descent into deindustrialisation
The rapid economic collapse that Britain is facing is simply an accelerated version of what the whole of Europe is…
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…
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…
Was Nato expansion worth the risk?
This is an important and topical book. Mary Sarotte traces the difficult course of Russia’s relations with Europe and the…
Is this really the moment to scrap bankers’ bonuses?
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng – keen to sharpen the City’s competitive edge, we’re told – wants to remove the legislative cap,…
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
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…
I’ve become a war addict
It is an almost unquestioned orthodoxy that war is hell, and that every needless death in a needless war diminishes…
Portrait of the week: Truss in, Johnson out and Nord Stream 1 off
Home Liz Truss, the new Prime Minister, said in a speech outside 10 Downing Street: ‘Boris Johnson delivered Brexit, the…
Why the Baltics fear Russia
In the historic heart of Riga, Latvia’s lively capital, there is a building that reveals why the Baltic States remain…
Will energy bills kill off working from home?
‘The jury’s out’, was Liz Truss’s pert response to the question ‘Macron: friend or foe?’ at last week’s Norwich hustings.…
The humanity of Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev, the final President of the Soviet Union who died last night, was remarkable both as an international politician…
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…
It’s time to kickstart North Sea oil
It is reported this morning that one of Liz Truss’s first acts as prime minister, assuming she wins the Conservative…
Ukraine stuns Russia with a counter-offensive in Kherson region
The southern city of Kherson, which fell to Russian forces in the first few days of the war, is one…
Why Crimea could be key to Ukraine winning the war
Over the six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the ambitions of President Zelensky and his compatriots have only grown. From…
Letters: How to reform the GMC
Overhaul the GMC Sir: Max Pemberton’s cogent criticism of the GMC (‘Unfit for purpose’, 20 August). is one of the…
How high will energy prices go?
When dozens of energy companies started going bust in 2021, the government knew it had a crisis on its hands.…
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…
The strange morality of sponsoring weapons
Forget fund-raising concerts donating spare clothes and offering your spare room to a refugee family. There’s a better way of…
How Ukraine is sabotaging Russia’s army
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) or possibly partisan fighters have conducted successfully attacks on three significant targets in occupied Crimea…
Blaming Saudi won’t make energy cheaper
How outraged should we be that Saudi Aramco has reported a world-record quarterly profit of $48 billion, representing a giant…
Propaganda from the Russian Front: The People Immortal, by Vasily Grossman, reviewed
On its posthumous publication in 1980, Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate was widely compared with War and Peace. For all…
