Unrecognizable Russia
(By MH, guest contributor) We Russophiles, we lucky few who have experienced Russia in depth, over the years, repeatedly, without the language as a barrier, know how wonderful it can be, with, on a personal level, unequalled hospitality, and with, on a cultural level, unrivalled refinement and professionalism. I dare say for us, but certainly […]
The same, yet different … for now
A friend writes to offer an article by Christian Esch, a German journalist, about how Russia’s assault on Ukraine has changed Moscow as came to know it over more than a decade of reporting from there. The change has not been for the better. Sensible people in press and media have left the country or […]
Russia Gets What it Wants
It’s been three months since Russia decided to bludgeon Ukraine into submission. To date, despite daily doses of “information” coming out of Moscow, the Russian government has left the world to speculate as to why and to what end. And to struggle with language: how does one even find words adequate to describe what Russia, […]
$800 Billion for This? (Or, Taiwan is Toast.)
Washington’s decision to abstain from opposing by force Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reveals a truth about the $800+ billion the US wants to spend in the next 365 days on military matters: none of the muscle is intended for use against powers of equal heft, i.e., China or Russia or India. Smaller countries had better beware. Since […]
Une présidence Le Pen et les trois sports nationaux de France
La sonnette d’alarme sonne en France et parmi ses alliés : Macron pourrait perdre face à Le Pen lors du prochain second tour de l’élection présidentielle. Beaucoup de ceux qui sont mécontents du résultat du premier tour pourraient s’abstenir. Zemmour (7% au premier tour) appelle ses électeurs à voter pour Le Pen. Même les électeurs […]
How Washington Green-Lighted Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Why did the US reject military intervention in Ukraine when news broke in December that Russia had moved its army to the border with Ukraine? Why did it publicly say so? And why, six weeks into the carnage and taking technocratic fustiness to extremes, does Washington share intelligence but not “data that would enable ‘real-time […]
Pure Speculation on a “Strategic Mistake” by Putin
Russia’s assault on Ukraine has stimulated what can, for once, be called a “public conversation”. It’s in contrast to the usual unendurable hyenal screeching that comes with important public issues in Western democracies. Maybe it’s the nature of war which (too briefly) mutes the shrillness of the overabundance of quarter-wits. Erudite and knowledgeable people share […]
The Biggest Danger is Western “Recklessness”?
Hans Kundnani, director of the Europe program at Chatham House, a British think tank, warns us about going “too far” in our opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He says the West’s “earlier inaction has exacted a heavy price,” but sees its current reaction as “dangerous” “overcompensat[ion]”. He first aims to establish his bona fides […]
Is it Right to Encourage the Destruction of Ukraine?
The West has created a moral dilemma for itself. Its characteristic refusal to prevent (rather than belatedly react to) bad things, and its refusal to provide Ukraine what it needs most to fend off Russia, requires it to ask itself: is it defensible to encourage Ukrainians to continue to resist an onslaught, the outcome of […]
Two Bits of Goofy Thinking
As with other civilized versions of our species, am caught in the dilemma between attention and distraction. Helplessness in the face of barbarism is excruciating. We want to know what is happening, chiefly in hope that the right side—and there very much IS a right side—will prevail. But hope is a thin reed. The news, […]
Russia Can’t Lose
In the latest example of judging Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage tell us that “Putin has made a strategic blunder by invading Ukraine. He has misjudged the political tenor of the country, which was not waiting to be liberated by Russian soldiers. He has misjudged the United States, the European Union, […]
If I were Putin
Success. Am putting the world back in order. I have everyone’s attention. Yes, the West howls. It (yet again) threatens sanctions. But when it comes to the choice between money and principle, we in Moscow know that the commercial interests in the West make politicians there dance like puppets. The daily stream of finger-wagging pronouncements […]
The Fastest Knee-Buckle in the West
Only hours after Russia recognized the “Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic” — insurrectionist areas of Ukraine — and ordered Russian troops into it on a “peacekeeping” mission, Washington signaled its acquiescence to Moscow: Putin’s move “did not constitute a further invasion that would trigger a broader sanctions package”. Decency would have allowed for an interval […]
Ukraine: A Very Personal Decision
Russian claims about the national security threat posed by Ukraine and even NATO are absurd. Alas, the Western press looks to compete in the absurdity stakes through speculation over Putin’s intentions. When will Putin decide to invade Ukraine? Has he decided already? If he hasn’t, what can/should the West do to get him to decide […]
Ukraine: Thugs Don’t Forget
As officialdom in European capitals and Washington tries to discern Russian intentions on an invasion of Ukraine, speculation by observers in and out of government runs the gamut. What will Putin do? Why is he doing it? And why is he doing it now? Conventional wisdom—fed by relentless rhetoric out of Moscow—says Russia is fed […]