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Trump’s Ukraine Peace Push Was Always a Naked Cash Grab

Trump's willingness to “bring Russia’s $2 trillion economy in from the cold” is a willingness to sacrifice Ukraine and undermine U.S. interests.

Tatyana Rybakova

Russia May Have Won a Company, but Lost a Friend in Serbia

With the situation around NIS, Russia exploited its power so bluntly that the trust of ordinary Serbs is likely lost forever.

Dmitry Nekrasov

Did Russia Really Have a Gasoline Crisis? New Data Suggests Otherwise.

While there were certainly some shortages in Russia's regions this summer, the picture painted by a new survey could hardly be called a crisis.

Europe’s Anti-Russian Sabotage Plans Miss the Real Problem

By focusing on visa restrictions for Russians, the EU is missing Moscow's actual sabotage tactics and how they can harden themselves against them.

The System Built to Manage Russia’s Nuclear Legacy Is Crumbling

Russia's self-imposed isolation, combined with not seeing the issue as a priority, risks neglecting the remnants of the Soviet nuclear program.

Natalia Morozova

Handing the Donbas to Moscow Will Doom its People to Suffering

As draft peace proposals include the handover of Ukraine’s Donbas, we cannot ignore the rights abuses Moscow committed in occupied territory.

How Russia’s Cultural Life Continues Despite the War

There are still brave publishers willing to sell provocative books, albeit it with content warnings and blank packaging like cigarettes.

Konstantin Pakhalyuk

Russia’s Nuremberg Revival Is About the Future, Not the Past

The hope for many in today’s elite is that by wrapping themselves in the symbols of Nuremberg, they will ensure that no tribunal ever judges them.

Trump’s Peace Plan Favors Russia. Putin Still Won’t Accept It.

To Putin, this proposal is proof of his victory. But there is much in its pages that he won’t agree to.

Jyri Lavikainen and Karen-Anna Eggen

Russia Wielded Migration Against Europe Earlier Than You Think

The FSB's fingerprints are all over thousands of migrants crossing Russia's arctic borders in 2015-16. It was a test for more recent manipulations.

When Russia Is Upset, 'Accidents' Keep Happening

Once again, Moscow has damaged a diplomatic building in an airstrike. This follows a pattern of retribution that stretches plausible deniability.

The Truth About Kremlin Elite Nepotism Isn't So Simple

It isn't the genealogy of Russia's elite that matters, but where they sit in the spider's web of Kremlin patronage.

An Anonymous Writer in Russia

What Do Russians Have to Look Forward to in 2026?

I recently asked a Russian friend what her hopes for the future were. "No plans. Only December," she said.

Tatyana Rybakova

Congratulations to Russia's Agriculture Ministry for Soaring Food Prices

With the industry regulated into a corner, the price of staples like sunflower oil and rye are climbing. Officials are only making things worse.

Inna Bondarenko

My Revolut Account Was Frozen for Having the Wrong Passport

Overzealous regulation and cautious corporations are making it as hard for Russians to live in the EU as the Moscow does for them to remain.

Visa Bans Don't Hurt the Russians With True Power

Rich Russians with multiple passports or golden visas can open doors with their money, while ordinary Russians become increasingly alienated.

Russia's Defense Ministry Is Undergoing Generational Change

Installing technocratic bureaucrats without their own patronage networks helps the Kremlin rein-in the leaders of the military and security services.

Russian Orthodox Priests Don’t Practice What They Preach

To endorsing "holy war" and living in luxury, the actions of Russia's religious elite are miles from the spiritual values they profess.

By Blocking Russian Exiles’ Accounts, Revolut Is Hitting the Wrong Targets

Sanctions should try to weaken the social base that supports Putin, not reinforce Kremlin claims of Russophobia toward ordinary people.

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