An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin's Master Agent (Bloomsbury, 2019) [24] A biography of German Communist spy Richard Sorge, the first English language work written with extensive access to the Soviet archives. We drop in everywhere from Putin’s long white table to Zelensky’s bunker, via the siege of Kyiv and the trenches of Mariupol. A combination of the nationalist minded idealogues getting closer to him, his sense of grievance against the West since Maiden and pandemic isolation helped sway him. Matthews titles the profile of Surkov “The Grey Cardinal”, before frowning on using that epithet for Surkov when he later insists that “the title properly belonged to Nikolai Patrushev”. In September 2022, during the 7th month of the Ukraine War, interviewed by Channel 4 about his nine meetings with Vladimir Putin, ex-NATO Head Robertson said, "At the f

Who were the dogs fighting under the carpet – as Churchill memorably once described Kremlin infighting – who battled for Putin’s ear, heart and mind? The few still willing to talk often did so while drowning their sorrows in bars - contemplating a future in a pariah nation, and envying even Ukrainian refugees. His first book, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Award, [1] the Orwell Prize for political writing, [2] and France's Prix Médicis Etranger.I like how the author goes back on time to Crimea’s invassion on 2014 to give further context of the conflict. A good 50% of the book consists of the historical background of the war, so if you know about Russian and Ukrainian history, there might be some repetition. There was a time before the invasion of Ukraine when even the Kremlin’s opponents would talk of living in ‘vegetarian’ times. There were probably too many pages spent dealing with the background of the war and not enough on the actual war itself. After 27 years as a Moscow correspondent, Spectator journalist Owen Matthews found his contacts book shrinking within days of Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Vladimir Putin apparently lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime – and Russia itself – at risk of destruction. From 2006 to 2012 he was Newsweek's Moscow Bureau Chief; and until 2019 was a Contributing Editor at the magazine.The only reason we know this story of incompetence and waste is that, as he tried to escape in a stolen car, he gunned down Oleksandr Shelipov, a retired man out for ride on his bike. Nor, in a country that still suffers an “addiction to imperial fantasies”, is it likely that Putin’s replacement will be Gorbachev 2. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: EPIC: Enraged Zhirinovsky Roasts English Journo Owen Matthews. Matthews’ focus on the major Russian non-Putin characters makes Chapter 4 and 5 the best and most interesting parts of the book. The most impressive banknote I have ever seen is the 500 ruble note produced by the Imperial Bank of Russia between 1905 and 1912.

With its panoramic view, Overreach is an authoritative, unmissable record of a conflict that shocked Europe to its core. Important events are either alluded to indirectly, or addressed with reference to a particular theme. The war crimes at Bucha are covered in more detail including the story of the young Russian soldier that committed war crimes and was subsequently captured and sentenced to life in prison.

When observing a war from a far the tendency to view things in terms of battles and grand strategies sets in and the stories of suffering and heroism on the ground can often be lost in the fog of war. How and why did Putin decide to throw decades of carefully-constructed macroeconomics and diplomacy out of the window and launch a war so reckless and risky that the details were kept even from most of his most senior ministers right up until the very moment of the invasion? The case is put thoroughly and meticulously, but I would say the weakness of it is evident in what it does not mention.

The lack of maps or an index (there is a reference list) will drive readers elsewhere for the necessary reminders about who the supporting characters are and where events are occurring. As Ukraine marked its 32nd national holiday since independence, news from the front lines and the wider world appeared better than perhaps in any week since the recapture of Kherson in November. Another implication of Matthews’ thematic approach is that readers who have not been following events in Ukraine closely may find themselves disoriented. It needs to be updated but it is excellent to know what Putin thought to start the war, what was his plan and why what he thought did not come out.By turning Russia into somewhere that no liberal wanted to live, they could ensure power passed to their own children, many of whom already hold top government jobs. It is a balanced account in terms of reflecting the different points of view but leaves the reader in no doubt that this is a disaster for all, and a terrible indictment of the Russian leadership in particular.