The cost of hacking an election
‘I don’t know which is worse,’ asked the Russian comic Maxim Galkin in a hilarious skit that compared Donald Trump and the veteran populist, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, ‘the choice there or … Continue reading
The Kaiser, the Tsar, and the President: an election day post
What happens when policymakers disagree about Russia? It’s surely a good thing — even if it doesn’t always head off disaster. Take newly unified Germany in the decades before 1914. … Continue reading
‘Our adversary’: Hillary, Trump, Russia
‘Our adversary.’ This is how Hillary Clinton described Russia in the second presidential debate on Sunday night. So routine has distrust and recrimination between the two countries become that nobody … Continue reading
Roy Jenkins in Moscow: a Brexit story
Seeking solace from Brexit, one could turn to the life of Roy Jenkins (1920-2003). As Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jenkins was among the most distinguished Labour politicians … Continue reading
Bruce Chatwin: through the Iron Curtain
How iron was the Iron Curtain? Every ‘through the curtain’ experience tells us something about the division of Europe during the Cold War. It adds evidence to any view of … Continue reading
Brexit: the view from the Soviet Union
On March 17 1991, the people of the Soviet Union voted in a referendum to resolve the greatest question of the time: should the USSR remain a single country, composed … Continue reading
Stalin and Hiroshima
In Hiroshima today, President Obama avoided a politically toxic and morally doubtful apology for the atomic bombing of Japan. Instead he faced up to the dangers of war. ‘We have … Continue reading
