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The Price of a Zero: The Russian Economy on Life Support
Our readers are familiar with Vladislav Inozemtsev’s work on the “economics of death” (deathonomics) in wartime Russia. Pierre Raiman offers a wide-ranging reflection on this mechanism. The death economy is the hallmark of Putinism, a new form of totalitarianism where terror is replaced by the market. But this neo-totalitarianism...
The North Sea as a Theater of War
Geohistory and the Demands of the Moment
Do Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. counter-blockade mark a strategic turning point? These initiatives could be the beginning of a conflict for control of the seas—more specifically, maritime routes and geostrategic areas that govern the flow of traffic...
How Eschatology Wreaks Havoc in the United States and Russia
Beyond the establishment of a “vertical of power,” beyond the dominant influence of oligarchs close to the presidential clan, beyond corruption, nepotism, and anti-liberalism, the United States is converging with Russia on another essential point: the hold of eschatological visions on the ideology of the ruling circles. As for...
See You in ‘Nuremgrad’: Russian Guilt and European Debts
For a "Nuremgrad trial" to take place, the collapse of the Putin regime will first be necessary. But this trial cannot be limited to judging criminals.
Rereading Solzhenitsyn, Thirty Years Later
The weaknesses in Solzhenitsyn’s view of Russian history take on renewed significance in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Total War, the Culmination of Putinism
High-tech dehumanization and brutalization
In this enlightening text, the historian demonstrates that the ideology inspired by theories in vogue in post-World War I Germany and under the Third Reich has discreetly driven the trajectory of Putin's regime since its inception. This ideology arises from the concept of total war. Françoise...
Economic Relations, an Underestimated Weapon in the Kremlin’s Hybrid War Against the West. II. Contagion
Having been fooled by Russia for a century and a half, Westerners still keep asking for more.
Economic relations, an underestimated weapon in the Kremlin’s hybrid war against the West. I. The Leninist imprint
From the very founding of the Bolshevik state, Lenin and his successors exploited the greed and naivety of Westerners.
The old philosopher, the ogre at our gates, and the good Europeans
An existential threat cannot be addressed by ordinary instruments of diplomacy.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black: A European Response to Trump and Putin Ideologues
The ideologues of the Russian regime and those of the Trumpist administration accuse Europe of having abandoned the ideals of democracy and Christianity. Russian propagandists even accuse it of “Satanism,” while one of the MAGA ideologues, Peter Thiel, speaks of the coming of the Antichrist. For Françoise Thom, these...
Thinking the Unimaginable, 3: A Revolution Ready for Tyranny
This article is the last of a triptych in which Philippe de Lara analyzes the singularity of the Trumpist revolution. The author explains what the “conservative revolution” that brought Trump to power is all about: it aims to radically transform America's institutions, economy and international role. Philippe de Lara...
Russia’s plan for the United States
The goal of the Kremlin, along with that of the high-tech oligarchs, is to create an irreversible situation in the United States by making it ungovernable.
The Lessons of Trumpism for Europeans: How to Avoid a ‘Self-Putinization’ of the EU
The historian explains the intellectual origins of Trumpism and suggests urgent measures to take.
From Lenin to Putin: One Hundred and Seven Years of Malfeasance
Since the Bolshevik coup d'état of 1917, Lenin and his comrades have been working out the principles of relations with the outside world: destabilizing the international order through propaganda and disinformation; penetrating the institutions of capitalist countries in order to weaken them from within; exploiting the rapacity of capitalists...
Let Us Not Falter at the Last Minute
The Russian economy, including its military-industrial complex, is showing signs of exhaustion. It would be unfortunate if the West were to give in to the pressure of the peacemakers, while the Moscow autocracy itself is at the end of its rope.
Subverting Elites and Manipulating the Masses: how Russian Interference Corrupts American Politics
Russian political culture has already permeated some American political circles. Fortunately, American opinion remains overwhelmingly pro-Kyiv, as does the Republican establishment.
On China as a Proxy for Russia-Eurasia: Lies and Historical Approximations in Chinese Geopolitical Discourse
In Europe, people are finally recognizing the depth of the Beijing-Moscow strategic axis, the driving force behind anti-Western dynamics and imperialist resentment.
Russian Expansionism: Enduring Goals and Recurring Methods
Russia's messianic, expansionist and militarist propensity is inseparable from the autocratic matrix of Russian power.
The Great Russian Pretence
The Russian propaganda discourse resonates with certain conservatives. Our author looks at the way in which, far from defending a European “civilization”, the Putin regime has transformed into an “eschatological sect”.
On Mourning, with Sigmund Freud
Here, the author delivers another installment in her "anti-fascist library", which helps us to understand our world by drawing on works from the past. This time, she revisits Sigmund Freud's Mourning and Melancholy. According to Olga Medvedkova, Soviet power deprived the population of the opportunity to mourn their loved...