Section: Intersection (EU)
Farewell to Intersection – it’s been a good run
Dear Readers of Intersection, As the editor-in-chief of this project I would like to announce two pieces of news: one bad and one good. Let me start with the bad news. I regret to inform you about my decision to suspend Intersection: Russia/Europe/World. The site will remain accessible for everyone interested in searching our archives, but it...
Why Russians are not unique
Society For a long time, the idea of a “mysterious Russian soul” was perceived in the West, especially among lovers of classic Russian literature, if not with delight, then with a certain amount of benign curiosity and fascination. Russians themselves were also pleased to consider themselves special, different from others with their...
Deluded Dreams of a Third Rome
Russia / World Russia’s conflict with the West is entering a dangerous new phase. The war in Syria is flaring up once again. An ex-spy is fighting for his life in a British hospital, amid diplomatic fallout over the first use of chemical weapons on European soil since the Second World War. Investigators in the United States are upping the...
Правильные, но запоздалые выводы
Russia / World Российская внешняя политика не справляется с поставленными задачами. Украина продолжает интегрироваться в европейские институты: визовый режим упрощен с июня 2017 года, а в марте 2018 года страна была признана потенциальным членом НАТО. В США президент Дональд Трамп в значительной степени сохранил политику своего предшественника, а...
Learning the right lessons, too late
Russia / World Wherever one looks, Russian foreign policy is missing the mark. Ukraine continues to integrate into European institutions, with a liberalized visa regime put into force in June 2017 and Ukraine designated as an aspirant country by NATO in March 2018. In the United States, President Donald Trump has largely preserved and...
Russia’s Messner Doctrine?
Politics Theresa May, Britain’s Prime Minister, has called the attempted poisoning of the ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter “an unlawful use of force” by the Russian state against the United Kingdom. Her accusation is based on her government’s forensics team discovering traces of Novichok, a toxic family of nerve agents produced...
The Politics Beneath Rosneft’s Bottom Line
Economy Rosneft is the world’s largest publicly-traded oil producer and one of the foremost instruments of Russian foreign policy. It is arguably the single most important factor in Russia’s relationship with Iraq. Venezuela is deeply indebted to the firm and Rosneft’s CEO Igor Sechin is a longstanding supporter of the Chavista...
It’s time to get used to Russia’s new “normality”
Russia / World It is unlikely that anyone was surprised with the results of Sunday’s presidential “elections” in Russia. Putin yet again confidently won with 76% of the vote and 67% of the turnout. The difference between this victory and all others is that this is the first presidential election since the annexation of Crimea...
The Return of Punitive Psychiatry
Society Over the past decade, particularly since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2014, the political use of psychiatry in the former Soviet Union has been on the rise. A recent report by the Federation Global Initiative on Psychiatry (FGIP) lists more than 30 new cases – from 2012 to April, 2017 – where journalists and activists have been...
Putin’s Science Fiction
Security On 1 March 2018, President Putin delivered a message to the Russian parliament. Other representatives of Russia’s ruling class were also sitting in the room, as is traditionally the case. Almost a half of the two-hour speech was devoted not to political and socio-economic proposals but, instead, exclusively to a story of...
