Alexander Motyl

Key Points and Summary – The piece uses a Ukrainian cross-country skier's refusal to speak with Russians—calling them “terrorists”—as a blunt window into why peace remains elusive

Key Points and Summary – This piece argues that Russia's “Soviet nationality question” never died—and is resurfacing under Vladimir Putin

Key Points and Summary – The U.S. intervention in Venezuela and arrest of Nicolas Maduro by President Trump reinforces the dangerous geopolitical precedent that “might makes right,” potentially encouraging other nations like Russia to invade their neighbors

Putin recycles Soviet rhetoric to fight ethnic discord, blaming the West for "decolonization" plots. Experts warn this fear could doom Russia like the USSR.

Hungary's prime minister is desperate to deflect attention toward Ukraine and the EU and away from his own loss of public support.

Russia's strained wartime budget and the prospect of Ramzan Kadyrov's succession make Chechnya's future in Russia an open question.

F or much of Vladimir Putin's genocidal war, the conventional wisdom was that Ukraine couldn't possibly defeat mighty Russia. That wisdom is changing. Volodymyr Zelensky, once accused of having no cards to play, is quickly proving otherwise. Indeed, it may not be premature to consider what a Russian defeat would mean for Europe and the world.

Pavel Gubarev, the 2014 Donbas separatist, now says Russia has lost 1 million men in Ukraine. Putin's nationalist base is openly turning against him.

Pavel Gubarev, the former neo-Nazi paramilitary who declared himself People's Governor of the Donbas in March 2014 and helped ignite Russia's war

Despite close relations with Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is wary about joining the war in Ukraine.