In Shakespeare, Macbeth murdered the old king, Duncan, in order to obtain absolute power. But then he found that what he believed he had obtained was slipping away from him: "to have but not to hold", in the bard's immortal words. Instead of solving the problem, Macbeth found that he had just changed the nature … Continue reading Putin Wins: A Pyrrhic Victory?

It took a while for the Russian authorities to react to the threat from the Wuhan virus, though it did announce that it was closing its long frontier with China just a day ahead of the United States, on 30 January. The completely unbelievable official statistics insisted and insist still that relatively few have actually … Continue reading The Wuhan Virus in Russia

Today Novaya gazeta appears with a devastating attack on the suicidal blow by Rosneft in precipitating the collapse in the price of oil on world markets at a time when the country stands on the verge of economic disaster with the  Wuhan virus and its lethal impact on world trade. Yulia Latynin points out that … Continue reading Russia’s Self-Inflicted Calamity, China’s Advantage

Not long ago the Kremlin evidently believed that extending its forward policy into the lands separating it from key rivals - from the United States in particular - by aligning itself with the Chavez/Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela, and doing so through its control over Russian oil producers, was a low cost option. The United States, … Continue reading Rosneft Caves in to U.S. Sanctions

On 25 March at the Council of the Federation, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, known for excessive boasting about his own achievements that has not escaped criticism, albeit veiled in the Russian media, has called for press censorship over defence issues. For him the freedoms accorded by the constitution were merely a luxury, a fleeting … Continue reading Defence Minister Calls for Censorship

The first sign that the Wuhan virus has seriously affected Russian foreign policy appeared today with an article published six hours ago in the liberal business newspaper Vedomosti. Its correspondent, Ivan Safronov, reported that a two day visit to Syria by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu just concluded. The visit was precipitated by the urgent need … Continue reading Coronovirus Impacts Russian Policy in Syria

Now that the Russian Supreme Court has rubber-stamped the proposals effectively making Vladimir Putin President for Life, the Africanisation of Russia is all but complete, merely awaiting the mascara of a plebiscite. Mrs Tereshkova must now be so relieved (see the previous blog.) It is of no comfort for a Russia which wishes to see … Continue reading Vladimir Putin President for Life

Was it not a nice surprise that the first woman to reach outer space, Valentina Tereshkova, who landed a seat in the Duma, a grandmother just turned 83, should suddenly think of poor Vladimir Putin?  Such a neglected figure. Someone had to. "I wish to say that each one of us should help the President", … Continue reading The Africanisation of Russia Continues

The failure to agree with the Saudis on sustaining an agreed price for oil on world markets that led to a massive drop in the oil price was bound to hit the value of the rouble and no amount of assurance that Moscow knew what it was doing has made any difference. The alarm is … Continue reading The Rouble Plummets

When the Russians fell out with the OPEC cartel (the Saudis) over the future price of oil, they had not thought through the larger economic repercussions for their own economy were the Saudis to retaliate dramatically with unilateral measures directed at them to expand output. As a result the sudden, precipitate drop in prices by … Continue reading Russia Gambles with the Price of Oil