Russia - Quillette

A Country in the Making

Sean Penn’s surprising new documentary explores “extreme history” in war-torn Ukraine.

Brian Stewart

29 Sep 2023 · 6 min read

Eight Hundred Years of Russian Despotism: An Interview with Orlando Figes

In a new book, the historian traces modern Russian aggression to an apocalyptic mythology rooted deep in the nation’s past.

Jonathan Kay

7 Jul 2023 · 9 min read

The Retreat from Moscow

Prigozhin’s coup attempt raises a number of questions to which there are no reassuring answers.

John Lloyd

27 Jun 2023 · 7 min read

World War Z

A new book by historian Ian Garner investigates how the war in Ukraine is transforming Russia into a fascist society.

John Lloyd

10 May 2023 · 10 min read

The Ukrainian Year

Ukraine has been instrumental in restoring a focus on what matters to the people and elected leaders of the West.

Jesse Inman

26 Feb 2023 · 4 min read

Ukraine’s Verdun

Attritional trench warfare and the terrible logic of the sunk cost return to Europe.

Robert Zaretsky

17 Feb 2023 · 4 min read

Mearsheimer: Rigor or Reaction?

What John J. Mearsheimer gets wrong about Ukraine, international affairs, and much else besides.

Matt Johnson

15 Feb 2023 · 21 min read

Democracy’s Trenches

The idea that the war in Ukraine is not our business is seductive but dangerously mistaken.

John Lloyd

4 Jan 2023 · 11 min read

A Strange and Brutal Country

Adam Curtis’s new BBC series provides a unique insight into Russia’s late-twentieth-century collapse.

Christopher J. Snowdon

24 Oct 2022 · 6 min read

Defying Russia’s Despot

Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s new book offers a profile in courage.

John Lloyd

20 Oct 2022 · 9 min read

Revolt Against the Modern World

Putin is the offspring of a political culture based on insuperable adversity to democracy.

Vladimir Tismaneanu

15 Oct 2022 · 4 min read

Red Letter Day

How an unknown teacher from Leningrad took on Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev—and ultimately won.

Robin Ashenden

29 Sep 2022 · 12 min read

Horseshoe Theory Comes to Ukraine

Putin’s Western apologists don’t reflect the usual conflict between Left and Right—but rather comprise an example of both poles making common cause against the center.

The Quillette Editorial Board

16 Sep 2022 · 7 min read

What the Left Keeps Getting Wrong About Ukraine

Vapid bromides about peace and negotiation are no substitute for policy and a frank acknowledgement of Russia’s responsibility for the conflict.

Matt Johnson

9 Sep 2022 · 9 min read

Idealist and Idiot

Gorbachev’s legacy is partly to blame for the tyranny into which Russia has since slumped.

John Lloyd

2 Sep 2022 · 9 min read