President Vladimir Putin (R) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) took a walk in the woods at the presidential estate in Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region, July 8, 2024 The lodestar of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8-9, it must be the disclosure by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration …
Continue reading “India-Russia ties take a quantum leap in the fog of Ukraine war”
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) congratulated the head of Russia’s Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov on his 80th birthday when he received the Hero of Labour title, Moscow, June 26, 2024 We recently witnessed the pathetic sight that even after 7 decades of independence and experience as a democracy where hundreds of millions of people genuinely feel empowered, …
In an exceptional gesture by far exceeding protocol norms, Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) was received with a hug at the airport at 3 am by Chairman of State Affairs of North Korea Kim Jong-un (L) on arrival on a ‘friendly state visit’, Pyongyang, July 19, 2024 The Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brief visit to Pyongyang on …
The aftermath of a Ukrainian attack on Belgorod, Russia, in May The United States’ proxy war with Russia is at another inflection point. The battleground is shifting dramatically to Russian territory — something without precedent even in the Cold War. How this pans out will be a momentous event in 21st century politics. …
The state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to China underscored that the two superpowers’ choice of entente-type alignment has gained traction. It falls short of explicit military obligations of support and yet will not entirely rule out military support either. By embracing a form of strategic ambiguity, it provides them the optimal means to …
Continue reading “Sino-Russian entente shifts the tectonic plates of world politics”
Thousands of people gathered on Moscow’s Red Square to celebrate President Vladimir’s election victory, March 18, 2024 The Russian presidential election has vividly brought out the fault lines in international politics in a way that seldom happens. That is because the political personality of President Vladimir Putin fills the global stage today like a Colossus. …
Continue reading “Putin’s victory is a geopolitical reality”
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the Federal Assembly, Moscow, February 29, 2024 The spectre of Armageddon has been raised often enough during the 2-year old war in Ukraine that the reference to it in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state of the union address on Thursday had a familiar ring about it. Therein lies the risk …
Continue reading “Putin’s nuclear warning is direct and explicit”
The ceremony marking presentation of Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia, St George Hall, Kremlin, Moscow, December 8, 2023 The announcement on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will seek reelection for a fifth term in office came as no surprise. That he chose the occasion of a Kremlin ceremony conferring the Hero of Russia …
Reuters carried a speculative report last week that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi might not attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg in person and, furthermore, that India disfavoured an expansion of the grouping. Reuters’ long history of cold war skulduggery notwithstanding, the gullible Indian media fell for the rumour mongering. And it created some confusion, …
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) met Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, St. Petersburg, July 23, 2023 The problem with the war in Ukraine is that it has been all smoke and mirrors. The Russian objectives of “demilitarisation” and “de-Nazification” of Ukraine wore a surreal look. The western narrative that the war is between Russia and Ukraine, …
