Russia
Can North Korea play off Russia against China?
Flanking North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the podium in Pyongyang several weeks ago, top Russian and Chinese officials watched a show of the country’s assembled missile forces…
Russia: The mafia as the state
What was astounding about the demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late chief of the Wagner Group, was not so much the fact of his death but the spectacular fashion in which he met…
Europe’s last war
Sometimes, watching the latest news, Europe’s last war comes to mind. At this time 30 years ago, the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the deadliest chapter in the violent break-up…
With Prigozhin gone, what next for the Wagner Group?
Along with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the 10 dead from the 23 August plane crash included two other key figures of the Wagner Group hierarchy: Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov. Prigozhin…
Prigozhin is dead, but Putin is still weakened
The reported death of Wagner Group chief Yevgenyi Prigozhin in a plane crash, along with the group’s co-founder Dmitry Utkin, comes as little surprise. If anything, it’s more…
The Baltic response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been some of the most significant supporters of Ukraine following the invasion by Russia in February 2022, contributing the…
The Moon: The great game on new turf
There is something about humans and land. Even in the age of virtual reality, humans clamour for territory. When songs of hyper-globalisation were trending, Russia reinforced that…
Fake news, propaganda, and the withering of commitment to truth
Book review: Alan Philps, The Red Hotel (Headline, 2023)
In war, truth is supposed always to be the first casualty. We owe that insight to an isolationist American Senator,…
Shadows of the state: How Wagner Group extends Russian reach in Africa
The Wagner Group was notorious long before its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had his dramatic falling out with the Kremlin in recent weeks. Ostensibly a private military company,…
De-dollarisation: shifting power between the US and BRICS
There has been increasing talk of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) developing a new currency that will rival the US dollar as the global reserve…