Universal geniuses do not exist in nature, as Guy Verhofstadt’s ill-informed and wrongheaded remarks on the electoral victory of Vladimir Putin demonstrate amply. Read on…
Category: International
Russia Votes, 4 March 2012: The Information War
On this day when Russians go to the polls to elect their President for the coming 6 years, of one thing we can be certain: whatever the plurality that Vladimir Putin may obtain (as projected by the most authoritative polls this past week), Western media will find reason to discredit the process for the sake of repudiating his authority and undercutting Russia’s place in the world. If, most improbably, he fails to win outright in this first round of voting, the howls of delight will echo from Whitehall to Foggy Bottom and in many chancelleries in between…Read on
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Russia and European Energy Security: The Inevitable Intrusion of Geopolitics
All aspects of Europe’s relations with Russia including the energy dimension inevitably have a strong geopolitical overlay which at times becomes distorting beyond recognition. To put it in terms of everyman’s anecdotal Freud: here we have a cigar which is never just a cigar. Read on….
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Year One of the Revolution: Travel Notes from Morocco
The results of the well controlled Arab Spring in Morocco are taking shape before our eyes as the first Islamist-headed government settles down to work. With God’s help, progress towards good governance may yet be made, notwithstanding the headwinds of economic recession blowing in from the Old Continent. Read on…
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Corruption in High Places: Germany under the Spotlight
The ongoing scandals surrounding German President Christian Wulff make a mockery of his arrogant denial of Russian aspirations for a visa-free regime with Europe. Read on….
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Bye-bye Nabucco!
The signing in Ankara on 26 December of the contracts for creation of a Trans-Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline sounds the death-knell of the EU’s Nabucco project. It is now high time for Mr Barroso’s Commission to re-examine the folly of its Energy Charter and 3rd Directive on Un-bundling Gas Transmission and Production.
More on Putin and Democracy
If you type the words “Putin, democracy” in Google search, dozens of articles appear on the screen, all saying one thing. The consequence of such complacent consensus of opinion is a generalized ignorance of where exactly Russia is headed now. Read on…
Putin’s Democracy
The recent interview of Vladimir Putin with three senior media executives provides insights into the democratic vision and blind spots of Russia’s leading politician as he prepares for his return to the presidency.
Letter from Orlino: An American Discovers the Muscular Dynamism of One-Story Russia
In the 1930s, the Soviet humorists Ilf and Petrov entertained their readers with observations of their travels across the Depression-era United States in One-Story America (published in English as Little Golden America). In the following essay, I return the favor, describing the energy of renascent Russia.
Can a U.S. Ambassador to Russia be expelled? The pending case of Michael McFaul
In the countdown to the nearly certain Senate confirmation of U.S. Ambassador to Russia designate Dr. Michael McFaul, it might pay to consider why, if he follows his instincts and his experience, he may be the first U.S. Ambassador to be declared persona non grata in Moscow since October 3, 1952. Read on to find out why….
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Gilbert Doctorow 