The dirty little secret of autocratic regimes like those of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is that they can’t really operate effectively without the services provided by willing Western collaborators. Continue reading
Ukraine’s bold incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast two weeks ago has boosted Kyiv’s morale and changed the narrative of the war. Continue reading
Turnaround, as they say, is fair play. We now live in a world where Ukraine has invaded Russia and controls territory roughly the size of New York City. Continue reading
The recent prisoner exchange that freed U.S. hostages, Russian political prisoners, and other wrongfully detained people from Vladimir Putin’s gulag served as a stark reminder about the nature of the Kremlin’s so-called criminal justice system. Continue reading
A summer of political crisis winds down with a critical election looming in Georgia as a restive and pro-Western civil society seeks to oust an entrenched pro-Kremlin oligarch from power. … Continue reading
It was the day Moscow’s dreams of empire ended up costing European lives. It was the day the Kremlin lost its last vestiges of credibility. And it was the day when it became impossible to continue even pretending that Vladimir Putin’s regime was anything close to respectable. Continue reading
It has been nine months since Russian authorities arrested my friend and former colleague Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen and a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir Service. Continue reading
Russia’s summer offensive appears to have stalled.
As NATO leaders meet in Washington to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary and as Russia’s war against Ukraine approaches its 900th day, U.S. officials say it is highly unlikely that Moscow will make any significant territorial gains in the coming months. Continue reading
In the week since Vladimir Putin’s summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, two opposing narratives have emerged. Continue reading
Russia’s war against Ukraine and Ukraine’s spirited defense of its sovereignty and independence have been framed in various ways over the years, including as a battle between democracy and autocracy and a geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West. Continue reading
