Russia has yet to draw hard and fast conclusions about the consequences of President Erdogan's invasion of Syria. Once Turkey decided to go in and take over the Kurdish-held region in the north of the country, the United States under President Trump had little choice but to concede or undertake a serious military commitment to … Continue reading Russia, Turkey and Syria: No Obvious Exit

Presidents Trump and Obama have, believe it or not, much in common (sorry Hillary). Both have long tried to withdraw U.S. forces from unending conflicts that bleed the United States of treasure and lives. No end of unpopular, corrupt and dictatorial leaders of the most loathsome kind have thrived on the downpour of dollars. Witness … Continue reading Trump’s Trap Sprung in Syria

An article drafted by military commentator Il'ya Kramnik for Izvestiya  was abruptly withdrawn from publication. Clearly the government did not like what was written. It  had criticised Sergei Shoigu, the notoriously immodest Minister of Defence, for lying about who is responsible for the reform of the armed forces and the overall improvement in conditions. Shoigu, true … Continue reading Russia’s Military Leadership Targeted

For a long time after the discovery that the Soviet Union had been given the secrets of the atomic bomb by men on the Manhattan Project - German, American, Canadian and Italian - an argument raged as to whether this factor was more important than the indigenous efforts of Russian physicists. No one could deny … Continue reading Atomic Spying Documents Given to the Kurchatov Institute, Where they Built the Bomb

At a time when both political parties in the United States, the Democrats and the Republicans, have attorneys general in various states launching legal assaults on the big tech media giants like Google and Facebook backed by threats from both parties in Congress, it is salutary to learn that now Mr Putin is equally upset. … Continue reading The Kremlin Upset at Tech Giants Interfering in Moscow Elections

President Putin's government made a concession to the military after being rebuffed by the United States when its national security adviser from Stanford, Condi Rice, advised the White House under President George Bush Jr that the Russians were of no account. Having reached out to the United States with helpful intelligence information after 9.11, against … Continue reading Russian Wedge-Driving into NATO

The bomb plot conceived by senior German officers aimed at the assassination of Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944 was the object of a feature film starring Tom Cruise not so long ago. The story appeared to have been well established, but one crucial dimension was absent until, that is, on 30 November 1997 President … Continue reading Stalin Preferred Hitler to the Generals