Russia
Cracks in the Cover Story
A new Russian film fictionalizes the adventures of the spy-diplomat Gen. Alexander Zorin. Draft scripts and his memoir, “The Negotiator,” reveal — perhaps inadvertently — that Russian lies about its military operations in Syria were as central to its strategy as the munitions it fired.
Al-Sharaa in Moscow
The very existence of Syria’s new leader serves as a stark reminder to Moscow of what it has lost. For Russia’s influential, pro-war military bloggers, often a barometer of nationalist sentiment, the welcome given to interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was a slap in the face.
How a Classic Russian Opera Became a Work of Protest
The opera “Boris Godunov” — first performed in St. Petersburg in 1874 — has, in recent years, become a lightning rod for clashing interpretations of Putin’s regime and, by extension, the question of Russians’ complicity in the bloodshed in Ukraine.
Beijing’s Military Parade May Not Be the Show of Unity That It Seems
Last month’s military parade in Beijing brought the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea together in a show of unity. But the history of such meetings reminds us of the hidden dynamics beneath the diplomatic veneer.
The Russian Ascetic Who Reached for Immortality
The driving force behind transhumanism — the idea that technological advancements will help us achieve immortality — may be the tech billionaires of Silicon Valley, but its genesis lies in the little hovel of a 19th-century Russian ascetic who had a new vision of eternity.
Icons and Guns: Inside Russia’s Largest Far-Right Group
More than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country’s far-right landscape is evolving, as the state increasingly seeks to co-opt and control such activism, with Russkaya Obshchina — which promotes so-called traditional values and anti-migrant rhetoric — serving as a prime example of the strategy.
The History of Aggression in Asia That Moscow Wants to Erase
Today, Tehran, Pyongyang and Beijing are providing critical support for the Kremlin’s latest war of expansion, while Russia claims its foreign policy rests on a history of opposition to imperialism — but under the tsars, Iran, China and Korea themselves fell prey to its ambitions.