The Chatham House meeting highlighted Ukraine’s perilous situation amidst military pressure from Russia, energy crises, and a political corruption scandal involving $100 million in kickbacks. The persistence of crony capitalism undermines trust and impacts EU relations. Reforming governance and law enforcement is critical for rebuilding post-war Ukraine and addressing systemic corruption.
This deep vocal techno track is a peace song by Wez G for the war between Russia and Ukraine – a Ба́ба-Яга́ is a deadly drone used by both sides in this conflict. BUY / STREAM HERE: Ба́ба-Яга́ by Wez G
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Chatham House is the Royal Institute of International Affairs. It is based in St. James’ Square, Mayfair, London, a short walk from Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. I have been a member of Chatham House for several months but with me being based in Wales all of my interactions thus far have…
View More Chatham House: How Effective Are The United States’ Sanctions? 19.06.2023
Under Nikita Khrushchev, the easing of oppression allowed Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” to emerge despite censorship. This poignant narrative reflects the grim reality of gulag life, showcasing a political prisoner’s struggle and survival amid harsh conditions, offering a lens into the human capacity for resilience and appreciation.
View More Review: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
‘War and Peace’ needs no introduction. It holds its place in the minds of contemporary society as a literary classic. One cannot pick up a newspaper article on great books without a passing mention of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece. Like other classical works such as the Bible, I think that their…
View More Review: War and Peace – by Leo Tolstoy
This is one of the very best books I have ever read. It is up to date material and full of cutting edge military theory and ideas and I believe is critical essential reading for any politician or military personnel, especially those who conduct their employment in the NATO led…
View More Review: The Dragons and the Snakes – How The Rest Learned to Fight The West – by David Kilcullen
There is irony in this tale as Bill Browder was following in his grandfather’s footsteps in some ways but was also radically poles apart. Browder’s grandfather had stood for Presidential election in the USA on a Communist ticket. Bill Browder was drawn to business possibilities behind the Iron Curtain and…
View More Review: Red Notice – How I Became Putin’s No.1 Enemy – by Bill Browder
The Great Game, as immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in ‘Kim’ was the nineteenth century adventures in espionage between Russia and the U.K. across Central Asia. Both sides were on the verge of a full on military confrontation and sought advantage. The Russian Tsars sought territorial expansion across Asia and always…
View More Review: The Great Game – On Secret Service in High Asia – by Peter Hopkirk
I’ve read Gordon Correra’s previous work in espionage literature and for this reason I was drawn to seek out this new offering. In the current climate of the Russian invasion of Ukraine under ex KGB spy, Vladimir Putin, I felt that this relatively recent work would highlight some of the…
View More Review: Russians Among Us – Sleeper Cells & The Hunt for Putin’s Agents – by Gordon Correra
This is the second Hobsbawm book that I have tackled and I find him to be a detailed, erudite, intelligent author and his obvious left-leaning politics readily assist him in compiling this study of Karl Marx and his work. The first part of the book looks directly at Marx’s work,…
View More Review: How to Change the World – Tales of Marx and Marxism – by Eric HobsbawmThis is a very well researched study of Russia under Vladimir Putin. Always concerned with the political angle of this modern day Tsar, Judah studies the rise of Putin from a relatively unflattering career in the FSB through to him becoming an immovable rock in the Kremlin. Putin’s early years…
View More Review: Fragile Empire – How Russia Fell In and Out of Love with Vladimir Putin – by Ben JudahThis science-fiction classic was written in 1920s Russia and was cited by George Orwell as a key inspiration for his seminal 1984. We are in the 26th century and following victory in a 200 year war, society has reached its apogee in a walled off universal nation called OneState. All…
View More Review: We – by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 by Antony Beevor My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a definitive history of the Spanish Civil War. The book has been regarded by the Spanish themselves as one of the best-researched volumes on this dark period of turmoil in…
View More Review: The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 – by Antony Beevor
Free Fall: A Sniper’s Story from Chechnya. Nicolai Lilin by Nicolai Lilin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I really enjoyed Nicolai Lilin’s first book and was keen to get stuck into this follow-up. It is really quite a different story and focusses on his career as a Russian soldier…
View More Review: Free Fall: A Sniper’s Story from Chechnya – by Nicolai Lilin
Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld by Nicolai Lilin My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is an exciting tale of a youth living in the Transnistrian underworld. His society, a Siberian criminal society has its own strict laws. The tales of violence and crime are quite horrifying…
View More Review: Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld by Nicolai Lilin