When the dollar is so high and US economic growth is running at 4.2% most investors within the United States are unlikely to start buying gold as a hedge against a stock market crash. On the contrary, Americans and foreigners are pushing the stock markets in the United States to new highs. Valuations of the … Continue reading Going for Gold? The Search for Financial Security in Russia

Reading Christopher Andrew's impressive authorised history of the British counter-intelligence service MI5, The Defence of the Realm, one would suppose that the team were increasingly on top of the Soviet threat to British security after a string of successes to their credit following the disappearance of Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess in 1951, leaving Kim … Continue reading KGB’s Missing British Recruits

We have noted in a previous blog that the fighting by Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan has been spilling over into neighbouring Tadzhikistan. Given the instability of that country lying within the Russian orbit, Moscow has good reason for anxiety. We also suggested that were the Americans to leave Afghanistan as President Trump originally intended to … Continue reading Russia: Afghanistan is Back

The "Silly Season" in Britain begins on 1 August when everyone has disappeared to the south of Spain confined to their hotels with the worst newspapers available to read. The tabloid press then has free rein to uncover for our delectation copious amounts of trivia. Now the Russians must feel they have to face the … Continue reading Steven Seagal and the Silly Season in Russia

If we ever needed a reminder, we now have one. As Paul Kennedy emphasised in his best seller, Great Powers depend upon economic strength for their political influence. As the United States takes aim at China to force it to play fair in trade according to World Trade Organisation standards, it threatens massive tariffs of … Continue reading Russia and Friends: Targets for Sanctions