Putin’s obsession with total victory is major obstacle for Trump’s Ukraine plan: Donald Trump has already walked back on his claim that he would solve the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours of taking office. Just as he once stated that he would resolve the healthcare crisis in the US easily, then backtracked to say “nobody …
Putin’s designs on a Baltic island are leading Sweden to prepare for war: Gotland has been a popular holiday destination for decades, but recently Swedish commander-in-chief, Mikael Bydén, claimed that Russian president Vladmir Putin “has his eyes” on the island. Concern was further ramped up, showing Gotland was just one part of Russia’s ambitions in …
How conspiracy theories help to maintain Vladimir Putin’s grip on power in Russia: As Russians head to the polls on March 15 for the presidential election, conspiracy theories are swirling everywhere. In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to a disinformation expert about the central role these theories play in Vladimir Putin’s …
Alexei Navalny: reported death of Putin’s most prominent opponent spells the end of politics in Russia: Reports of the death of Russia’s most famous opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison camp are shocking, but not entirely unexpected. It draws a line under Russia’s political development over the past two decades by highlighting that …
Putin’s four-hour Q&A is a valuable insight into the Russian president’s version of reality: Russian television audiences didn’t have much choice but to watch Vladimir Putin’s annual press conference on December 14 – it was broadcast on all terrestrial TV networks. After a year’s hiatus in 2022, when the success of the Ukrainian autumn counteroffensive …
How Russia’s theatre scene has been obliterated by Putin’s culture war: View from stage of Moscow's Vakhtangov Theatre. Pavel L Photo and Video/Shutterstock Over the past decade, Russian president Vladimir Putin’s regime has introduced ideologically driven cultural policies intended to shape a new, virtuous Russian citizen for the future. For those – like Putin himself …
Russia’s disastrous decision to invade Poland in 1920 has parallels with Putin’s rhetoric over Ukraine: Polish defences near Milosna, west of Warsaw, August 1920. Wikimedia Commons From the beginning, Russia has framed its invasion of Ukraine as necessary for the defence of the country. According to Vladimir Putin, Nato’s deliberate and aggressive encroachment into a …
Russia in Africa: Prigozhin’s death exposes Putin’s real motives on the continent: The apparent assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhin in the crash of his private jet between Moscow and St. Petersburg represents an inflection point in Russian-African relations. Prigozhin, as leader of the notorious Wagner Group, had been the point man for Russia in Africa since …
Ukraine war: Crimean bridge attack is another blow to Putin’s strongman image: The bridge connecting mainland Russia across the Kerch strait with the illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was seriously damaged on July 17 2023, in what appears to be a successful strike by naval drones. While there has been no official confirmation from …
Ukraine war: how Putin’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda is an attempt to build support for the invasion: Just a few months after a new version of Russia’s “gay propaganda” bill was signed into law in November 2022 by President Vladimir Putin, bookshops and libraries removed LGBTQ+ books from their shelves. Gaming and streaming industries followed suit in …
Ukraine war: why Putin’s appeals to masculinity to recruit for the military will not work: Hardliners in Russia have been calling for a full-scale mobilisation for some time, but so far Vladimir Putin has resisted the temptation for a full call-up due to its expected unpopularity. Instead, Russia is attempting to persuade thousands of men …
Wagner Group: what it would mean for the UK to designate Putin’s private army a ‘terrorist organisation’: Asatur Yesayants/Shutterstock The UK is reportedly planning to officially designate the Russian mercenary firm Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation. This would put Wagner on a list with 78 other groups, including ISIS, al Qaeda and newer white …
‘Stalin-style’ show trials and unexplained deaths of opposition figures show the depth of repression in Putin’s Russia: Longtime Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has been found guilty of treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison after what the journalist and activist has dismissed as a 1930s-style “show trial”. The 41-year-old, who holds Russian and British …
Ukraine recap: spring comes too early for Putin’s tanks – easy targets as they stick in the mud: Reading the international press on the first day of spring in Ukraine, it appears that Russia has jumped the gun somewhat in its “spring offensive”. It has poured troops and armour into an area around the town …
Ukraine war: how have Vladimir Putin’s narratives survived a year of reality checks?: The Russian state has a long history of using its information operations to try and shore up its military plans overseas. Of course all states try to win over the hearts and minds of the population either at home or where they …
Putin’s state of the nation: why Russia hasn’t officially declared war and what difference it would make: As Vladimir Putin steps back from his state of the nation speech, it’s important to note that the Russian government has still not formally declared war on Ukraine. But from a Ukrainian and western viewpoint, we can all …
Putin’s plan to stop Ukraine turning to the west has failed — our survey shows support for Nato is at an all-time high: When Vladimir Putin sent his war machine into Ukraine last February, one of the reasons he gave for the invasion was to ensure Ukraine’s neutral status and prevent its government from moving …
Ukraine recap: Putin’s trip to Minsk fuels fears of a bleak and bloody new year: Volodymyr Zelensky has been on his travels this week, leaving Ukraine for the first time since the invasion to fly to the US to meet with Joe Biden and address a joint sitting of Congress. The Ukrainian president impressed with …