‘Vlad the mad’ psychological analyses don’t help us understand Russia’s war. Historians gain insights by examining the enabling and determining factors behind why conflicts erupt.
A Russian military intercontinental ballistic missile launcher rolls by during the 2019 Victory Day military parade celebrating the end of the Second World War in Red Square in Moscow in May 2019.
(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
The sort of scenarios that might lead to the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war would require a significant deterioration in Russian fortunes — and greater western involvement in the conflict.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, attends a flower-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier close to the Kremlin.
EPA-EFE/Anton Novoderekhkin/Kremlin pool/Sputnik
Kibrom Abay, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) ; Guush Berhane, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , dan Jordan Chamberlin, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Our work highlights the potential of phone surveys to monitor active and large-scale conflicts.
Russian military cadets rehearse for the Victory Day military parade in St. Petersburg on May 5, 2022.
Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
Western officials say that Russia may officially declare war on Ukraine on May 9. An international relations expert explains why this day is significant, and why a war declaration would matter.
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, center, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, at the consecration of the Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces outside Moscow, June 14, 2020.
Oleg Varov, Russian Orthodox Church Press Service via AP
World War II has a central place in Russian nationalism. Its importance is written all over a new cathedral dedicated to the armed forces.
Javelin anti-tank missiles, T-72 tanks and Bayraktar TB2 drones are just some of the weapons that other nations have sent to Ukraine.
Getty Images, Associated Press, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Department of Defense
Russia’s invasion isn’t only devastating the lives of ordinary Ukrainians but is also disrupting global supply chains and increasing poverty around the world.
Vladimir Putin watchers the launch of Russia’s latest ICBM via video link in his office in the Kremlin.
EPA-EFE/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin pool/Sputnik
Politics have never been that far away from the Eurovision Song Contest. Since its inception, the annual event has reflected the political culture and geopolitical realities of Europe.
Online campaigns in Vietnam are falsely maligning Ukrainians and discrediting the legitimacy of international organizations. It’s all at odds with the aims of the Vietnamese government.
Syrians demonstrate in Idlib province on 1 April 2022.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP
When it comes to war crimes in Ukraine, the Kremlin is intimately following the Syrian playbook. To prevent further atrocities, leaders must now draw the lessons from the conflict in Western Asia.
President Putin is promising a huge military turnout for the annual Victory Day parade in Red Square.
Alamy