The greatest Russian writer the West forgot
In January 1965, when Roy Plomley asked Marlene Dietrich for her book to take with her on Desert Island Discs, he must have been baffled by her…
Standing up to Putin
Talks in Geneva today between officials from the United States and Russia mark the start of a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at reducing tensions over Ukraine….
Kazakhstan leader thanks Russia for help putting down ‘coup’ and fighting off ‘terrorists’
Mr Tokayev ordered Kazakh soldiers to shoot people carrying weapons without warning to subdue attacks on government buildings and to fight what he said were terrorists speaking…
Nato must not give an inch to Vladimir Putin’s demands, says former secretary general
“This is not a serious proposal from a man who wants peace,” he wrote. “When I met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time as Nato…
Britain must lead from the front on Russia
President Putin has conjured up a crisis in Ukraine which presents the West with only bad choices. Thus far we’ve avoided the worst outcomes, but the British…
Russia shuts down its oldest human rights group in Kremlin’s battle against Soviet past
He has also frequently referred to Josef Stalin, whose regime is believed to have killed 1.2 million in the Great Purge of 1937-1938 alone, as a leader…
Britain’s USSR sympathisers are ignoring the regime’s horrors
On Christmas Day, thirty years ago, a fabulous present was given to the people of Russia. Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics declared:…
Will Putin turn on the taps? Europe faces bleak winter and ‘astronomical’ gas prices
Gazprom, the state energy giant, has been fulfilling its contractual obligations but little else, according to researchers, with the amount it sells on the European spot market…
European energy policy makes the rich richer
A summit of the European Council will be held on Thursday. This time there will be an important debate on energy policy as part of a discussion…
Russia warns of nuclear deployment in Europe amid escalating tensions over Ukraine
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, added on Monday ahead of a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels: “We are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for…
Russia’s richest man opens mammoth modern art centre despite Putin’s crackdown on artists
The 225,000 sq ft space, sheltered by a soaring glass roof, houses a vast exhibition space, a cinema, a concert hall, workshops for artists with hi-tech equipment,…
Russians have been planning a coup in Ukraine for next week, says Kyiv
‘Threat of war tomorrow’ A respected Russian open-sourced data group earlier this week produced more evidence that Moscow had been shipping tanks and ammunition close to the…
Putin and Xi’s dangerous miscalculations offer a slim ray of hope
Alexander Lukashenko was out to cause trouble for Europe. Earlier this year, the Belarusian government began shipping migrants from the Middle East to Minsk. Then, it transported…
Putin is ready to gamble on war with the West
Bosnia may be about to collapse into civil war. Belarus is throwing Middle Eastern refugees at the Polish border. Russia is building up forces on Ukraine’s eastern…