Academics from King's College London & UCL opened the first panel at #LDC2025 with a timely discussion on how today’s key political figures like Putin, Xi, Trump, Zelensky & Starmer are reshaping global alliances. Maria Varaki Kerry Brown Tim Willasey-Wilsey Charlie Laderman Ben Noble

Russia continues to spend faster than ever. total spending between January and April was 20% up from the equivalent period last year– far beyond the planned level of growth for the year. The pace of spending, however, is even more indicative than the raw figures. 1/3

As US-Russia ties warm under #Trump, business elites in both countries have been exploring the possibility of an easing of sanctions. Political scientists Ben Noble and Nikolai Petrov discuss the likelihood of foreign business returning to #Russia. russiapost.info/politics/busin…

For a bit of context for this law-making practice in Russia, see this short piece by me on "vagonchiki": shorturl.at/01iO3

Big update for The Beet: We now have our own landing page on Meduza in English! 🎉Pay it a visit if you’re looking to subscribe to the newsletter or want to read any of our top reporting from the last year-ish. meduza.io/en/specials/th…

❓ Why the Kremlin is still afraid of elections? Ahead of the 2026 State Duma elections, Russian authorities are changing the boundaries of single-mandate constituencies. It seems that after 25 years of undermining the electoral process, the #Kremlin should not be concerned

Russia’s Latest Wave of Repression – my interview with Nikolai Petrov CH Russia Eurasia kyivpost.com/post/54141

Russian copycats of McDonald's and Starbucks are preparing to defend their turf. Excellent article by Eleanor Thornber for Bloomberg UK on how Russian copycat brands are faring, with comment from me. UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Trip up north to see Mum and Dad, walk a bit in moorland, get sunburned, and see some old snaps.

It’s real!

What to make of Dmitry Medvedev's war of words with Donald Trump? Excellent article by Tom Parfitt in The Times and The Sunday Times, with a few comments from me. UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies thetimes.com/world/russia-u…

HELP: Our friend Alec Luhn is currently missing while hiking in Norway's Folgefonna national park. If anyone has seen him please get in touch. If people in the area can share this please do Last seen July 31 after leaving Odda headed for Holmaskjer. Planned to go to Breidablikk

The The New York Times DealBook is on top of the commercial angles coming out of Alaska. Chatted with Bernhard Warner about the signals the business community will be looking for as the deal-maker & the Kremlin chief meet. Hurst Publishers Ben Noble nytimes.com/2025/08/15/bus…

📢 We’re hiring an editorial assistant! This is an entry-level opportunity for a diligent and enthusiastic team-player with strong writing skills and a demonstrable interest in global affairs. Find out more & apply ➡️ tinyurl.com/bdv463pv

The Isle of Scalpay is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

“…we need more books like Hecker’s to recalibrate our outlook on history…” Thank you, Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski and The Critic for the hugely generous and thoughtful review of Zero Sum. More than ever, it’s time to read books about Russia. Hurst Publishers Michael Dwyer Ben Noble

Альбом уже продается в сети Mnogoknig mnogoknig.lv/lv/products/17…

London already feeling quite autumnal.