Ukraine
Navigating a new world
In the 1890s, when British-owned ships carried 70 per cent of all seaborne trade, legislators worried about the proportion of…
The hunger
In 1933 my aunt Lenina Bibikova was eight years old. She lived in Kharkov, Ukraine. Every morning a polished black…
Trump’s eastern front
Kiev There is no lavatory paper to be found in government buildings in Kiev. Plan ahead, locals advise, if you…
The joy of the Proms
Summer nights, hot and humid, mean just one thing — it’s Proms season again. Sore feet, sweaty armpits, queuing outside…
Why Nato is more important than the EU for Britain
The Leave campaign was right to pour scorn on David Cameron’s warning this week that Brexit could threaten Europe’s military…
Andrey Kurkov’s The Bickford Fuse is a satirical masterpiece
Whimsy, satire and deadpan humour: welcome to the world of Andrey Kurkov. If you know Kurkov’s work, The Bickford Fuse…
Whoever invented the referendum deserves a kicking
My favourite quote of the year so far comes from the author Fay Weldon. ‘If this were an all-woman society,’…
Farty, smelly and in love with Putin? You must be middle-aged
There are things that happen when you grow older — bad things, harbingers of death and decay. Past the age of…
Silent strongman Sergey Shoigu is the real force behind Russia’s military aggression
Sergey Shoigu is the real force behind Putin’s military aggression
What’s it like to have a Nazi for a father?
This is a documentary in which three men travel across Europe together, but they’re not pleasurably interrailing, even though there…
Letters: The Church of England should apologise for abuse accusations
The C of E should apologise Sir: Peter Hitchens’s article on the allegations against the late Bishop Bell is a…
From toad in the hole to seal soup: the best new cookbooks
Timing is everything, and few cookbooks come at an apter moment than Mamushka (Mitchell Beazley, £25) by the excellently named…
Portrait of the week
Home Andrew Burnham described calls from Yvette Cooper, a rival candidate for the Labour leadership, for him to withdraw from…
Welcome to the world of Big Byz
The title of Victor Pelevin’s 2011 novel stands for ‘Special Newsreel/Universal Feature Film’. This product is made by the narrator,…
Let’s read the riot act to the kleptocrats who are buying us out
I have signed an affidavit for a hearing in the High Court stating that Janan Harb was, to my knowledge,…
If Putin comes, the Poles are waiting - a report from Nato's new frontline
Nato’s beefed-up military exercises are impressive – and ominous
Calling all British tourists — Ukraine needs you!
Kiev ‘What the hell’s going to happen to your poor country?’ I ask the man in the flea market not…
Portrait of the week
Home The British economy grew by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest quarterly growth for…
Whose hair are you buying?
British people buy £43 million worth of human hair a year. So who’s selling?
It’s Nato that’s empire-building, not Putin
For Nato and the EU as much as for Putin, Ukraine is a question not of virtue but of power and land
Shelling, militiamen and shattered villages: welcome to eastern Ukraine’s ceasefire
Ukraine’s war goes on – in some places now, and soon everywhere
Portrait of the week
Home Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the former Conservative foreign secretary, resigned as chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and promised…
Portrait of the week
Home Party leaders mercilessly launched 100 days of campaigning before the general election on 7 May. David Cameron, the Conservative…
Portrait of the week
Home More than 1,100 imams and Islamic leaders received a letter from Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, and Lord Ahmad…
Europeans no longer fear Germany. But do the Germans still fear themselves?
Germans are beginning to recognise that they will not always be able to stay out of military conflicts
