Over the past century alone, Russia has lived through great achievements and deepest misery; mass heroism and mass crime; over-blown ambition and near-hopeless despair – always emerging with its sovereignty and its fiercely independ...

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, there has been much talk of a new Cold War between the West and Russia.  Under Putin's authoritarian leadership, Moscow is widely seen as volatile, belligerent and bent on using military forc...

The eyes of the world are on the Middle East. Today, more than ever, this deeply-troubled region is the focus of power games between major global players vying for international influence. Absent from this scene for the past quarter c...