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- opinions 21
- politics 12
- interview 9
- tribune 7
- history 5
- appeal 3
- book 3
- documents 3
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- cartoon 2
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analysis
The special orthodoxy of Pope Francis
Historian Françoise Thom examines the relationship between the Russian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis…
The UN, Russian Aggression and the Impasses of Collective Security: Elements of Analysis and Response
The UN is experiencing a serious crisis following the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov and the Return of Soviet and Russian Anti-Semitism
After Sergei Lavrov’s outrageous statements about Hitler’s “Jewish blood”, which caused an outcry in Israel…
Reveling in Transgression
With Vladimir Putin, one always believes that the bottom of disgrace has been reached, that the Kremlin cannot do even worse.
Melancholic reflections on the French elections
The results of the first round of the French elections are astonishing.
Russian Ideologues Aim to Liquidate the Ukrainian Nation
The author examines the writings of the former Russian president and prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev…
National Guilt and Personal Responsibility
Today, a simple “man in the street” in Russia has only a very blurred notion of his fault in what is happening in Ukraine…
Joe Biden and the “Butcher”: Truth and Exit
President Joe Biden’s phrase calling Vladimir Putin a “butcher” and his exhortation, if not his prayer…
Alternative History Against History: the Case of Vladimir Putin
Many Western observers were surprised by Putin’s attack on Ukraine. Among many of our experts…
How to Train Europe: the Kremlin’s Exploitation of the Ukrainian Crisis
Westerners are wondering about Putin’s intentions regarding Ukraine. They take into account the slightest declarations…
Facing Russia: the Polish Geostrategic Actor and the Euro-atlantic Balance
The international crisis provoked by the Kremlin’s pressure on Ukraine, considered as a pseudo-state doomed to destruction, has the virtue…
The Balkans Could be the Scene of a Future Diplomatic Confrontation With Russia
The Russian military threat to Ukraine and, by extension, to Mitteleuropa (Central and Eastern Europe…
Putin: Flirting With Armageddon
After the Westerners’ refusal to accept the Russian ultimatum of December 17, the West is slowly becoming aware…
Russian “new Weapons”: from Deterrence to Coercion?
Against the backdrop of a serious crisis in the eastern confines of Ukraine, where the sound of boots on the ground…
What Does the Russian Ultimatum to the West Mean?
On December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry unveiled two draft texts — a “Treaty between the United States…
The West under the Gun: how to Deal with a Blackmailer
The video-meeting between Biden and Putin on December 7 has given rise to much speculation in the small world of experts.
Malignant Influence and Counter-influence: Responding to an Asymmetric Threat
The influence strategy of the Kremlin, as indeed of any dictatorial and criminal state, must be studied rigorously…
Ukraine, the Frontline of Russia’s Hybrid Wars
The current situation on the borders of Poland and Latvia, neighbours of Lukashenko’s Belarus, underscores the topicality…
The Ukrainian Geopolitical Pivot and the new Cold War
It took years for the expression “new Cold War” to become obvious. Still, one would like to reserve its use…
Strategy of the Absurd
A lot of recent information about Russia can be disconcerting for a reasonable reader. It is absurd. It is incomprehensible.
Can the European Union Build its Future Without Russia?
There is little room for maneuver in relations between the European Union and Russia, especially since the latter…
“Wagner” in Mali: the Tree Must not Hide the Forest
During the night of September 30 to October 1st, a Russian jumbo jet landed at the airport of Bamako (Mali). On its sides were four MI-171 helicopters.
How the Putin Regime Bets its Legitimacy at the Electoral Casino
In Russia, the election is a dirty game. The whole process is controlled by the bureaucracy, the information system, and intelligence services.
Russia, Afghanistan and Central Asia: a Geopolitical Overview
The evaporation of the Afghan National Army and the collapse of a state carried at arm’s length by the United States and its allies will have surprised Russians…
The Taliban Against Russia? Neither Alliance, nor Fight
The victory of the Taliban was carefully prepared by Moscow: for a long time already, the Kremlin had been maintaining communication channels with this group…
Russian Military Power: a Seasoned Army Serving a Revisionist Geopolitical Project
In the West, the primacy of domestic objectives, the “long war” against Islamic terrorism and the perception of international rivalries through the prism of geo-economics…
Russia’s Ukraine According to Putin: how This Propagandistic Narrative Risks Reaching the West
In a July 12, 2021 essay that caused a stir among security analysts, Vladimir Putin considered the Russian and Ukrainian peoples to be one.
Putin and his Courtiers: a Cavalier Relationship With History
In an interview with the Financial Times on June 20, Vladislav Surkov, the architect of Putin’s regime, compared the Russian president to Octavius…
A Perspective on the Russian-iranian Alliance
In September 2015, when Russia intervened militarily in Syria in order to save the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, guarantor of its strategic “assets” in situ…
Putin-biden: a Double-edged Summit
In Geneva on June 16, the American and Russian presidents, each in their own way, acknowledged that they had agreed on nothing, except that they should seek to get along better.
The United States / Russia / China Triangle and the Improbability of a Reversal of Alliances
The priority given by American diplomacy to the Chinese threat sometimes leads to fears of a shift in favor of Russia, the objective being to drive a wedge…
The Karabakh war: how Russia’s Image has Deteriorated in Both Armenia and Azerbaijan
There is no evidence that an economically weakened Russia has stopped viewing unresolved conflicts as a tool for keeping control on what it considers its sphere of influence.
opinions
The Other Russian Offensive
Faced with the perilous situation that the West’s unanimous condemnation of the war in Ukraine represents, Russia has launched…
Beyond the “negotiations”, a long war
Is the timid opening in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on March 29 in Istanbul a “positive signal”…
French Kremlinophilia: an Incurable Disease?
French Kremlinophilia on the right and on the left is based on a complex but extremely solid substratum, which we can see today.
Beware the Sirens of Minsk
The Kremlin has gotten the attention it sought: it now has most of the western world guessing whether it will unleash…
Russia can be Checked by a Regional Response in Europe
Russia is posing an essentially 19th century challenge to Europe — a threat to the sovereignty of nations…
Reshaping Ukraine’s Western Integration
There is widespread fear of an escalation of the current Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict into a large and prolonged inter-state war in Europe.
The Boomerang of Obscurantism: the Case of Covid
The Covid crisis has demonstrated the price that the Russian population has to pay for the policy…
The Return of Utopia to Power: the Turning Point of Putin’s Regime
At the Valdai meeting, Putin drew attention when he said: “The existing model of capitalism is outdated”
The Destruction of the Soul in Putin’s Russia
In no Russian regime has propaganda held such a large place as it does in the Putin regime. Propaganda was very visible…
Why do Some Russian Opponents of Putin’s Regime Criticize the Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Dmitry Muratov?
Among Russian opposition, opinions are divided: some congratulate the winner, Dmitry Muratov, Editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, while others accuse…
The “Energy Partnership” With Russia: Lessons from the Past, Dangers for the Future
Today the trap patiently built by Moscow against Europe for 20 years is closing. Russia has never hidden its desire to abuse its dominant position…
Nordstream-2, an Economic Project, did you Say?
Until very recently, Chancellor Merkel kept repeating that Nordstream-2 was a purely commercial project, devoid of any political implications.
From the Afghan Withdrawal to the Foundation of the AUKUS: the Bright Future of European Defense?
If we are to believe the optimists, the withdrawal of the United States from the Afghan theater last August and the subsequent decision by Washington…
Resist the Homo Putinoidus!
Desk Russie recently published an article about the lawyer Ivan Pavlov, who is currently the victim of judicial persecution.
Deciphering the European Policy of the Kremlin
Putin’s article published in Die Zeit on June 22 marks the Kremlin’s return to a European policy pursued since the Gorbachev years…
“Soft” Propaganda: an Invisible and Invasive Threat
Many analysts of the current Russian regime are only focused on the hard propaganda of the Kremlin and its relays in the West…
Despite Strong Words, the European Parliament Fails to Tackle Agents of Malign Russian Influence
The European Parliament’s resolutions tend to be critical of Putin’s Russia. One of the most recent resolutions on Russia adopted at the end of April…
The Senator and the Fraud
On June 21, in the Senate, Senator Nathalie Goulet organized a “press briefing” with Vadim Rabinovich, a Ukrainian press magnate and leader of the pro-Russian party…
Putin’s Setbacks and the Fight for his Succession
If we look at the news of the last few months, we see that a series of seemingly disparate events all point to a decline in Russia’s influence.
Sputnik V: The Missed Promise of a Messianic Vaccine
The Russian leadership boasted that it was the first to invent an anti-Covid vaccine, in August 2020. The vaccine, called Sputnik V, is supposed to embody “victory”…
Russia: the Banality of Crime and its Strategic Consequences
Independently of any moral dimension, the practice of war crimes also says something about the strategy of the master of the Kremlin. If one can debate…
politics
Istanbul Talks: What Does Russia Want?
The announcement of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations has raised hopes in the West, and stock markets have rebounded.
Natan Sharansky: Putin’s Two Major Mistakes About Ukraine and the West
In a video conference organized on March 22 by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy…
Prophecy and Anger: “Useless Knowledge”
In a 1988 book, La connaissance inutile (Useless Knowledge), the French philosopher Jean-François Revel analyzed a classic paradox…
With Putin’s Russia, the Impossible Status Quo
During his trip to Moscow and then to Kyiv, President Emmanuel Macron insisted that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity were non-negotiable.
Kazakhstan: Voices of Russian Opponents
The Free Russia Forum was created in 2016 by a group of politicians, scholars, journalists, and cultural figures from the ex-USSR…
Turkey and Ukraine: Ins and Outs of Their Defense Partnership
Meeting in Riga (Latvia) on 1 December 2021, representatives of NATO member countries reaffirmed their support for Ukraine.
Will There be a new War?
In the international community there is a growing talk of a new attack from Russia and Belarus on Ukraine.
The Migration Crisis: the Other Side of the Hybrid war Against Europe
In May 2021, as Putin began to implement his strategy of strangling Europe with gas deprivation…
Does Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin Vote in Europe?
The question of a possible preference of the Russian regime for a certain potential French far-right candidate has fueled recent debates…
Special Operation “Elections” in Russia. User Guide
Thirty years after the failed putsch against Mikhail Gorbachev, and the victory of universal suffrage and people’s sovereignty, Vladimir Putin has launched a new SpetsOperatsia…
A dr Strangelove in the Kremlin?
In his big election speech on March 1, 2018, to thunderous applause, Putin catalogs the new doomsday weapons Russia is working on.
Russia: Facing the Afghan Wasp Nest
“Among our enemies, the most to be feared are often the smallest,” said Lafontaine. Russia, which has strenuously worked for the advent of “multipolarity”…
interview
Roman Kechur, President of the Ukrainian Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies: “Putin is not a Political Manager but an Emperor”
We publish an interview with Roman Kechur, president of the Ukrainian confederation of psychoanalytic therapies…
Josef Zissels : “Putin is sending us a Trojan horse”
For several years, Ukrainian civil society has been protesting against the “Russian” project of a memorial at Babi Yar, a place of Holocaust remembrance…
The Mass Graves of Odessa: Stalin’s Crimes in Ukraine
While Ukraine mourns the victims of Stalinism, Russia is rehabilitating Stalin. On August 30, mass graves containing the remains of victims of the Great Stalinist Terror…
Sergei Medvedev: “Russia Might cut Itself Completely off from the West”
Sergei Medvedev is a Russian scholar, a specialist of the post-Soviet period. In his analysis of Russian society, he uses sociology, geography…
Svetlana Gannushkina: “We are Citizens, not Subjects of mr. Putin”
Svetlana Gannushkina is one of the most famous Russian human rights activists. For more than thirty years she has dedicated herself to the defense of refugees and migrants.
Putin’s Russia: a Protean Ideology
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Eurasianism among Russian political emigrants — a philosophical and political theory…
Mairbek Vatchagaev: “We Must Learn not Only to Defend our Rights, but to Live According to French Law”
The presence of Chechens in France intrigues and worries. In June 2020, Paris-Match headlined on its cover: “Alert to Chechens.
“Putin’s Regime Represents the West’s Greatest Existential Threat”
The Biden-Putin summit, the core nature of Russia’s current regime, corruption among western elites, the fate of Ukraine and Navalny…
« The USSR deliberately provoked the May 1967 crisis that led to the Six-Day war »
The Six Day War (5-11 June 1967) won by Israel against a coalition of Arab countries - and leading to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip…
tribune
Creating Frankenstein
Today’s Russia was largely prefigured by the red-brown coalition in the early 1990s, and Putin is just its embodiment…
The Medium Term Consequences of Attempts to Re-engage With the Russian Regime
In my previous paper for Desk Russie, I pointed out the fatal consequences of the lack of understanding of the nature of Putin’s regime
Putin or the Passion for Evil
Putin’s aggression against Ukraine was perceived as a thunderclap by the West, because it is always difficult to believe the worst.
Calling a Spade a Spade: the Rogue Essence of the Kremlin Regime
How to fight Russian disinformation and lies of Putin’s regime on Ukraine? Instead of “dialoguing” with leaders who only swear by force…
Russia’s Attack on the European Security Order: Germany Must Act
Desk Russie publishes the Open Letter by 73 German Experts on Eastern Europe and International Security…
Sowing Chaos
The Russian president is known for his professional habit of disguising the truth, but he is sometimes surprisingly frank.
Covid19: How Russia Lost the Third World War
It is already possible to recognize that Russia has lost the Third World War, it is a medical diagnosis. The demographic losses…
history
The Intuitions of Jules Michelet. A Selection by Françoise Thom
In Légendes démocratiques du Nord (1854), the historian Jules Michelet recounts the martyrdom of Poland…
The lessons of an end of reign: Stalin 1952-3, Putin 2022
If it is true that history does not repeat itself, we nevertheless sometimes hear surprising echoes between eras.
Journalist Geneviève Tabouis: Soviet Funding and Influence
A 1965 documentary shows her: a very dignified lady, first in front of her microphone…
Thirty Years Since the August Coup
The August, 1991 Moscow coup was a desperate attempt to save the Soviet Union. When it collapsed, the will to preserve the socialist system disappeared and the Soviet Union…
Why Stalin Refused to Believe in a German Attack?
During the night of June 21-22, 1941, Germany attacked the USSR. In spite of the warnings coming from all sides, Stalin did not believe Hitler would strike.
appeal
“The Ukrainian Garrison in Mariupol can Still be Saved”: Urgent Address to European Leaders
Ukrainian human rights defenders, former dissidents and scholars call European leaders to act now. Read the appeal.
Our Call: Free Vladimir Kara-Murza
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close friend of Boris Nemtsov and one of the most prominent members of the liberal…
Mariupol, a Martyred City: “Putin Intends to Annihilate Mariupol in an Attempt to Force the Ukrainian Government to Capitulate”
Josef Zissels, co-chairman of the Union of Ukrainian Communities (the Vaad), summarized on WhatsApp on March 15 the vibrant story…
book
The Russian Diaspora, a “Battlefield”?
In his recent interview with Desk Russie, the academic Sergei Medvedev pointed out that “the Kremlin is actively working with emigration”…
Russian-soviet History: the March Backwards
The new book of Françoise Thom, La marche à rebours. Regards sur l’histoire soviétique et russe, Sorbonne université presses, 2021…
The Irresistible Attraction of Authoritarianism
“When the conditions are favorable, any society can turn against democracy” The seduction of authoritarianism seems irresistible today.
documents
Immediate Opening of Negotiations on Ukraine’s Accession to the European Union: Appeal to eu Council President Emmanuel Macron
Desk Russia publishes this appeal of intellectuals, academics, politicians, journalists from all over Europe to Emmanuel Macron…
“Memorial” in Danger : not to Remain Silent!
The General Prosecutor’s Office of Russia sued the Supreme Court to liquidate the International Society “Memorial”.
A new East European University Must be Established in an EU Member State
OPEN LETTER to the European Commission and national governments - from scientists and cultural figures. In the face of the repression…
editorial
The Time for Courage
Faced with the now massive war launched by Putin against Ukraine, it would be disastrous to give the head of the Kremlin…
Putin’s use of Force in Distant Central Asia Will Have Consequences in Europe
The dispatch of troops to Kazakhstan from the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization is a game-changer for the entire Soviet space…
They Tortured Raman: Will European and American Leaders be up to the Challenge of History?
Raman Protasevich was kidnapped by the Belarusian security services in an act of air piracy that must be considered a terrorist action.
cartoon
The strategy of barbarism
Desk Russie is continuing to publish the cartoons in which cartoonist Epo reacts to the realities…
“They Pretend not to be Nazi!”
Cartoonists have always taken up current affairs. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is no exception.
human rights
The Liquidation of Memorial and the Destruction of the Universal Consciousness of Crime
The “liquidation” of Memorial by the so-called Russian “justice” is an attack on the universal conscience.
The Russian Prison System is Built on Violence
The practice of torture in prisons and penal colonies in Russia has long been widespread. Prisoners are tortured and raped…
investigation
The Post-war World Seen from Russia
How do experts, close to the Kremlin or not, represent the post-war world?
Operation Chancellery: Russia’s Asymmetric war Against Germany
At the September 26, 2021, Bundestag elections, Germany will decide on its new political leadership. The Chancellor, justly considered hostile to Putin…
media
The Power of Propaganda
Former Soviet political prisoner Russian journalist Aleksandr Podrabinek analyzes the power of Kremlin propaganda…
The Consequences of the American Withdrawal from Afghanistan as Seen from Russia: the Impact in Europe, the Fate of NATO
The precipitous withdrawal of the Americans from Afghanistan was initially welcomed with jubilation in Moscow. Russian media were not only gloating…
analyse
Ukraine’s “European Dream”
Ukrainian political scientist analyzes Europe’s attitude towards Ukraine.
electoral watch
Zemmour or the Fascination for Putin
For several weeks, Eric Zemmour has been at the forefront of the media scene. When it comes to East-West relations…
justice
The Lawsuit Brought Against Catherine Belton by Russian Oligarchs: a red Alert for Europe
The lawsuit brought against Catherine Belton, a British investigative journalist, by four Russian oligarchs and a Russian state company has not attracted enough…
news briefs
Why Such a Surge in Mortality in the Land of Sputnik V?
Russia is facing a new wave of coronavirus. According to official data, the death rate is increasing…
pearls
Putin — “A Modern Philosopher on the Throne”
The Valdai Discussion Club is a Russian think tank and discussion forum, established in 2004. Some members of the Russian ruling elite gather…
report
Back From Ukraine Where the Future Model for Europe Is Taking Shape
The author has just returned from a trip to Ukraine with a delegation from the European Parliament and the French Senate.
russian voices
How the West Should Treat a “Bad Guy”
Russian-American relations are looking more and more like a high-school rivalry between a dumb-ass bully…
society
Defederating Russia
What happened to the Russian Empire? It disintegrated at the end of an imperialist war.
tribute
Sergei Kovalev: Conscience of Russia and Conscience of the West
Sergei Kovalev died at the age of 91, on August 9, 2021. According to the journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza who also fights for a democratic Russia…