Music: Joao Gilberto — ‘Estate’
How Putin plunged Russia toward totalitarianism
Ben Judah writes: During a documentary interview in 1996, back when he was a little-known political functionary, Vladimir Putin offered an eerie warning about Russia’s future. “However sad and however frightening it may sound, I think that in our country a return to a certain period of totalitarian rule is possible,” he said. “The danger,” he added, “is not to be found in the organs that provide order, the police or even the army. It is a danger at our…
‘We used to think of the Russians as our brothers,’ says Kharkiv mayor as his city faces wholesale destruction
The Wall Street Journal reports: In the days since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, shelling and airstrikes have killed hundreds of people in Kharkiv, a city of 1.4 million about 20 miles from the Russian border. Residents spend their days and nights huddled in the subway. Above them, explosions devastate their city. At least 400 high-rise apartment buildings have been hit, Kharkiv city authorities said. Strikes have damaged the art museum, with its…
Baseless Russian accusations could serve as a pretext for Moscow to unleash chemical or biological weapons
The Wall Street Journal reports: Russian officials accused the U.S. of funding biowarfare efforts in Ukraine, drawing concern from Western officials who fear that a crescendo of allegations about weapons of mass destruction could serve as a pretext for Russia to unleash chemical or biological weapons itself. The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday said that a U.S. defense agency funded research into bat coronaviruses in Ukraine and the country’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said that “these were not peaceful experiments.”…
Putin says Russia to use Middle East volunteer fighters
Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light on Friday for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine, doubling down an invasion that the West says has been losing momentum. The move, just over two weeks since Putin ordered the invasion, allows Russia to deploy battle-hardened mercenaries from conflicts such as Syria without risking additional Russian military casualties. At a meeting of Russia’s Security Council, Defence Minister…
Why Russian military doctrine calls a limited nuclear strike ‘de-escalation’
In an article first published in 2014 and now in an updated form, Nikolai N. Sokov writes: In 1999, at a time when renewed war in Chechnya seemed imminent, Moscow watched with great concern as NATO waged a high-precision military campaign in Yugoslavia. The conventional capabilities that the United States and its allies demonstrated seemed far beyond Russia’s own capacities. And because the issues underlying the Kosovo conflict seemed almost identical to those underlying the Chechen conflict, Moscow became deeply…
Outside the West, Putin is less isolated than you might think
The Washington Post‘s Worldview analysis: In India, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refrained from denouncing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a gripe between Moscow and NATO. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said his nation “will not take sides” in the conflict, even as he dismissed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky as “a comedian.” A senior South African official still calls Russia “a friend through and through.” From a perch in the West, it’s easy to see…
Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine
Donie O’Sullivan writes: A new conspiracy theory has become popular among some of the online communities that formed around QAnon — one simultaneously being promoted by the Kremlin as a justification for its invasion of Ukraine. The false claim: the United States is developing bioweapons in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin has stepped in to save the day and destroy the weapons. QAnon’s core prophecy has always been that there is a “plan” and that former President Donald Trump will rid…
How oil companies rebranded deceptive climate ads as ‘free speech’
The Guardian reports: On 24 October 2019, Maura Healey, the attorney general of Massachusetts, sued ExxonMobil for “deceptive advertising” and for “misleading Massachusetts investors about the risks to Exxon’s business posed by fossil fuel-driven climate change”. It was the culmination of an investigation Healey had launched in 2016 looking into how Exxon allegedly misled the public about climate, decades after its own scientists had briefed the company on the realities of the issue. This week, the Massachusetts supreme court is…
Music: Triosence — ‘Little Big Steps’ ft. Paolo Fresu
Nikolai Patrushev: The second most powerful man in Russia
In a profile on Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council, Russia’s top national security body, Filip Kovačević writes: Patrushev’s ideological influence on Putin has become more evident over time. While Putin still espoused some elements of a liberal worldview in the mid-2000s, Patrushev clearly signaled his preference for what he called “traditional values” as early as 2000. These values are premised on the creation of an anti-liberal, “multipolar” world in which Russia’s sphere of influence would expand dramatically, which…
Would Putin use nuclear weapons? What has and hasn’t changed since the invasion of Ukraine
This intercontinental ballistic missile was launched as part of Russia’s test of its strategic forces in 2020. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP By Miles A. Pomper, Middlebury The prospect of a nuclear exchange between Russia and the United States seemed, until recently, to have ended with the Cold War. Threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin to use the weapons to keep NATO out of the Ukraine conflict have revived those decades-old fears. The threats come amid the fraying…
What’s better than a ban on Russian oil imports? Ending our dependence on fossil fuels
In an editorial, the Los Angeles Times says: Biden needs to think bigger and pursue more ambitious measures to deploy clean energy in the United States and Europe within months to a year. That means quickly ramping up programs that make it easy and attractive for people to switch from gas-fueled cars to electric vehicles and replace natural-gas-fueled water heaters and furnaces with energy-efficient electric heat pump models. These actions will fight climate change, save American families money and insulate…
Small signs raise hopes for a cease-fire in Ukraine
The New York Times reports: When President Vladimir V. Putin launched his invasion two weeks ago, he said a primary goal was the “denazification” of Ukraine. He referred to the Ukrainian government as a “gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis,” making it clear that his aim was to topple it. But in recent days, the language has shifted, with the Kremlin signaling that Mr. Putin is no longer bent on regime change in Kyiv. It is a subtle shift, and…
Russia’s information war: Painful truths vs. comfortable lies
Cynthia Hooper writes: During the first two weeks of fighting in Ukraine, many journalists reported that most Russians believed official propaganda and did not even know their country was at war. Powerfully written accounts of daily life in St. Petersburg documented citizen willingness to parrot state media tropes. For them, the “special military operation” Putin announced was strictly about “good” Russian soldiers engaged in acts of “defense,” “liberation,” and “peacekeeping.” In a BBC piece, one woman told of phoning her…
Ukraine’s local politicians demonstrate the power of grassroots leadership
The Wall Street Journal reports: Vitaliy Kim, the governor of Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, now facing a Russian advance, posts a new video every few hours running down victories and losses—often using language out of place in a family newspaper. Opening with his trademark greeting, ‘We are from Ukraine,’ Mr. Kim, a taekwondo-fighter-turned-real-estate-developer and politician, exudes confidence that Mykolaiv will be able to repel Russian assaults. He recently shot a video inside a captured Russian infantry vehicle. “Optimism is indispensable. I…