How long does it take for the penny to drop for Vladimir Putin finally to accept that he is not going to win? At every step the West takes ever more drastic measures across every front - short of military intervention - to stop and reverse Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Paul Volcker style head … Continue reading Kremlin Chaos: Staging a Retreat?

Today a senior military figure let the cat out of the bag. It is no accident, as Pravda used to say in the old days, that Moldova is now formally proceeding with membership of the EU. The Commander ad interim of the Central Military district, Major-General Rustam Minnekaev (formerly Deputy Commander), announced that the Russian … Continue reading Target Moldova: Transnistria

Yesterday the Deputy Director of the North American department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Koshelev, announced that any vehicle carrying armaments across the (Polish) frontier into Ukraine would be considered a legitimate military target. Clearly there has been some difference of opinion on this matter hitherto between the Ministry and the Ministry of Defence, … Continue reading Russia Threatens Military Transports to Ukraine

After a meeting with Defence Minister Shoigu just after 10.00am Moscow time Putin announced that he was calling off the "inexpedient" storming of the massive steel plant in Mariupol. The reason given was that the expected loss of life among Russian troops did not make it worth the effort. But that they would instead blockade … Continue reading Putin Calls Off Siege of Azovtstal in Mariupol

Komsomol'skaya pravda used to be notorious in the days of the Soviet Union. The joke ran: "Why do Russians believe in flying saucers?" The answer: "Because Komsomol'skaya pravda denies that they exist." Today this is no longer so. It is now the most popular tabloid; reportedly Putin's favourite read. As such it is occasionally worth … Continue reading The Threat of the Russian IT Brain Drain

Even under Stalin's terror the Soviet population were treated to regular infusions of ideological indoctrination, Marxist-Leninist philosophy, at some levels mindlessly simplistic to someone from the West. But it did its job, clogging up the arteries of the greater part of the population and turning it into a blind and obediently inert mass. Then we … Continue reading Putin: A Dictatorship Without Purpose

In war the element of surprise is everything. At 8.00am Russian time Vzglyad ru reported an attack on an oil depot in Belgorod within Russia the night before, as revealed by the governor of the region Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two Ukrainian attack helicopters launched the raid on eight tanks containing 2000 cubic metres of fuel. How … Continue reading Russia Under Attack: Ukraine Blasts Russian Oil Depot

We appear to be months short of a satisfactory peace settlement in Ukraine. And it is too early to be definite about everything. Yet it is worth mulling over what lessons to draw for the long term from this sorry episode in international relations.            First, everyone without direct access to satellite intelligence and lengthy … Continue reading    Looking Ahead: Hard Lessons from Russia’s War in Ukraine 

Novaya gazeta has closed down while the war continues. It was the last of the media outlets attempting to carry on reporting as normal. ОТ РЕДАКЦИИ Мы приостанавливаем работу Заявление редакции «Новой газеты» «Новая газета»  -7 часов назад

The orientalists in Russia have long been hand in glove with government simply by virtue of the long and arduous training in language and culture they collectively receive. So it is worth listening to them. A leading Russian specialist on China, Mikhail Karpov, dismisses the idea that China is likely to go all in with … Continue reading China to Distance Itself from Russia