Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinion’s Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwell’s “1984” and Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.”
Russia’s predatory system of bureaucrats, officers, managers and media personalities won’t object to change at the top — as long as they can count on getting fed.
Ukraine and the West are smart to take Russia’s nuclear doctrine at face value: No nukes will fly until and unless Russia faces an existential threat. So far, it hasn’t.
The counteroffensive is coinciding with peak infighting among the most notorious of the Russian not-quite-regulars — and a nadir of their military strength.
Bringing the war to Russian soil may have a short-term military upside. But high civilian casualties could cause a “Chechnya effect” that works to Putin's long-term advantage.
The deluge of satellite imagery, drone footage, social media and smart phones has generated enough information to support any story you want to tell about what’s happening on the ground.
One year after launching a criminal, fratricidal, ill-conceived and poorly-run military campaign, he has single-handedly set Russia back in every respect.
If the West’s governments want their policies to attract lasting public approval, they need to appeal to the basest instincts of distracted and distrustful voters.
The ex-Fox host only used pro-Kremlin rhetoric to rile his political opponents. But their failure to take on his arguments without condescension will undermine US public support for Ukraine.
Knowing who was responsible for the pipelines’ disruption is key to preventing future attacks against essential undersea lines of communication and transport.
