Mid-Week Round-Up
A selection of the news stories and interesting opinion doing the rounds this week.
- 15 January 2020
The Russia question: Of Barack, Donald, and Vladimir
There is a sense in which it is worrying that Trump seems warm towards Putin. But Obama, as in so many spheres, never had a serious policy towards Russia. One thing is clear, Washington and Moscow have an overwhelming interest in working together on a range of vital issues
- 4 January 2017
INSTANT VIEW: Will UK let Putin get away with murder?
The murder on the streets of London of Alexander Litvinenko, an opponent of Vladimir Putin, marks a break-point for the UK. Putin has been named as the instigator. We can't let Putin get away with it and still retain our core values as a nation
- 21 January 2016
Putin a bit of stick about
The West should bring Russia inside the tent with an anti-ISIS entente. Whilst our waffling wimps are wringing their hands and wondering what to do next, Putin is putting a bit of stick about. Just what we need
- 20 November 2015
Obama v Putin -- a New Realism?
As always, President Obama tiptoes around violent contradictions in today’s Islam. Indeed, his speech on Syria showed a confused mind on many things, while President Putin was sharper and more focused. Yet, strangely, it might all coalesce into a deal
- 30 September 2015
Obama must join Putin on ISIL
Assad may be a monster but ISIL is far worse; a barbaric Caliphate, and an Islamist threat not simply in the Middle East but to world civilization. Putin has got the point. Obama and the West need to get it too
- 29 September 2015
Russian opposition activist linked to Nemtsov in critical condition
In another warning sign about the dangers of dissent in Vladimir Putin's Russia, an ally of murdered Kremlin opponent Boris Nemtsov lies in critical condition in hospital
- 31 May 2015
Goodbye Lenin: Ukraine makes glorification of Soviet past a crime
Ukraine has enacted draconian laws making it a crime punishable by imprisonment for glorifying a Soviet past which cost millions of lives
- 16 May 2015
Putin’s Great Patriotic War Commemoration Speech - Leaked?
Former British Ambassador Charles Crawford offers his version of a (leaked?) forthcoming landmark speech by Vladimir Putin in which Russia's leader comes clean about Stalin's real role in the Second World War, and in so doing salutes truth and memory in a radical break from the past
- 28 April 2015
Jail, exile, or death: Three outcomes of opposing Putin
Did Putin order Boris Nemtsov's murder? That question risks missing the point. The Russian state is a collection of financial, political and security interests that will do whatever it takes to protect their position. Instilling fear does not require an order from the top
- 28 February 2015
Russia's in the wrong, but the EU destabilised Ukraine
Ukraine shows that far from being a force for peace in Europe, the EU can become a destabilising influence. Ukraine was relatively stable before the EU offered closer links and encouraged politicians sympathetic to the west in what was a very split country
- 7 February 2015
Time to tighten the screw on Russia over Ukraine
The situation in Ukraine is not hopeless. While the Putin-inspired carnage is shocking, we need to understand that Russia is weaker than it looks and Ukraine is stronger. The West should tighten the screw on Moscow now
- 4 February 2015
An oily, slippery, tricky 2015
The collapse in the oil price could cause chaos from Russia, through the Gulf, to Cuba. Putin himself may be more vulnerable than we think. Meanwhile, Europe's in a right old mess, Obama's still lost, and the UK election will be fascinating. A fun 2015!
- 1 January 2015
Why 2015 should be a great year for enemies of the West
The essence of Barack Obama's weakness is that he does not have the mental capacity to deal with the world's complexities. The West's opponents know this and are likely to strike out further before he leaves office and is replaced by someone more competent
- 30 December 2014
Russia crisis highlights why London so popular with global rich
Much as the wealthy Russian expats who live in London often profess their love and yearning for the motherland, there's a reason why they don't live there. They know Putin's a loser. Welcome to Moscow-on-Thames
- 17 December 2014
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