history
A Look at the History of Crimea
At a time when Ukrainian strikes deep into enemy territory are altering the strategic situation, the author revisits the history of Crimea. Unless Vladimir Putin is overthrown by a palace coup—preceded or accompanied by the collapse of the Russian state—these strikes will likely not be enough to change the...
The Libido of Russia’s Ruling Elite
The former Soviet dissident Alexander Skobov, who was sentenced in April 2024 to 16 years in prison for “terrorism” due to his staunch denunciation of the war and Putin’s regime continues to work from his prison cell. In this piece, he shares his reflections on the unconscious of Russia’s...
So, What Happened in Sevastopol?
Russian propagandists accuse Ukraine of deliberately targeting the Siege of Sevastopol panorama, a key site of imperial and Soviet mythology.
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.
In Central Asia, the Long Search for the “Missing” of World War II
In these countries, the memory of the "Great Patriotic War" has been particularly questioned since the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Russia’s Future: How to Separate the Possible from the Impossible
It is necessary to prepare for the decolonization of Russia now.
United States: Cloning Putinism?
According to the author, the regime that Trump wants to impose on Americans has similarities to that of Putin and, in both cases, the complacency of the oligarchs plays an important role.
Vladimir Putin’s Role Models
If the Russian president has almost rehabilitated Stalin, he has mainly drawn inspiration from Andropov and Primakov.
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...
Russia-Mongolia: Constraints Weighing on Mongolian Diplomacy
This country, a signatory to the Treaty of Rome, welcomed Putin despite the international arrest warrant. In truth, Mongolia's latitude for action is limited.
Toward a Putinization of France?
This essay deals with both history and current events. The author demonstrates how Putin’s regime and its ideologues work to destroy French society from within and make it an ally of Moscow. Françoise Thom also recalls how the "popular fronts" in the Eastern countries freshly occupied by the USSR...
How to Explain the Yo-Yos of French Diplomacy?
Where does the idea come from to invite Russia, which did not participate in the Landing nor does it share the values that are the very foundations of our societies?
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 Quarrels of the Russian Opposition
A new documentary, produced by Alexeï Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund and devoted to the Yeltsin period, has sparked contrasting reactions. This intense controversy reveals a lot about the state of mind of Russian society.
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”.
Where is the Will of the West?
In the confrontation between the West and Russia which started on February 24, 2022, the West and Ukraine had everything they needed to win: economic resources far superior to Russia's, a technological edge in military capabilities, and last but not least, the international law on their side. Despite this,...
The Second Front
Russia is carrying out undermining work among the Ukrainians themselves, but also by infiltrating Western decision-making circles, in Washington and in European capitals. Preventing Western support for a final victory for Ukraine and discouraging Ukrainians from fighting until victory, these are the Russian objectives that our author analyzes and denounces.
They Made Putinism: Gleb Pavlovsky (1951-2023), the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the Green Jacket
After her portrait of Vladislav Sourkov, the Kremlin's éminence grise, historian Cécile Vaissié offers Desk Russia the second part of her series "They made Putinism". Indeed, other people than Vladimir Putin have, with him, designed and built Putinism, and made it work. One of the main "builders" of Putinism,...
Vladislav Surkov, the “Aesthete” of the Shadows
A great expert on post-Soviet Russia, Professor Cécile Vaissié offers Desk Russie the beginning of her series "They made Putinism", and the first part is devoted to one of the key figures of the regime, Vladislav Surkov. When Ukrainians say that not Putin alone wages war on them, since...