Dive into the archives.


  • The Geography of Russia Through History

    And now with my latest post in the CA series on the historical borders of nations through history, I’d like to tackle the growth and recent waning of Russia’s territorial might over the last one thousand years.

    Similar Posts: Ethiopia – Poland – Armenia – Persia.

    NOTE: As always, these borders shifted over the years, [...]

  • Considering the state of things, not that unusual…

    Russian bombers neared NATO summit on unusual practice run, Norway’s military says

    Two Russian strategic bombers on an unusual practice run Thursday neared the Netherlands, where NATO defense ministers were meeting, the Norwegian military said. Another set of bombers earlier Thursday flew unusually close to far northern Norwegian territory, but remained in international air space, [...]

  • It had to start sometime Despite beheading videos having gone out of style for Jihadis in Iraq, it seems that one Russian extremist group is starting to copy the tactic. According to Radio Free Europe,

    A Russian ultranationalist group has posted a video on its websites that appears to show the execution-style killing of two men from Central Asia and [...]

  • The Arctic Cold War: The Canadian Perspective

    My post on Russia’s Arctic claim last month is now hot news as Russia plants a flag on the arctic seabed, Denmark and Norway jostle for claims, and the US brushes off Russia’s claims. What about Canada? The Star has an article on the Arctic “Cold War” and what Canada (and the US) [...]

  • Managing State Failure

    In Brave New War, John Robb poses the question: “Will global guerrillas strive for a complete shutdown of Iraq’s infrastructure, or do they achieve more through a partial shutdown?”

    Previously, I argued that Russia was intentionally creating a seam-state curtain around it. This includes the conflicts in Transdniester, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabagh as well [...]

  • Lost in Translation?

    In the very public row over Russia’s refusal to extradite a suspect to Britain in the poisoning murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the headlines in the western press are focusing solely on Putin’s statement that Russia is not Britain’s colony:

    Russia’s not your colony, says Putin – Times Online
    Putin Attacks UK `Colonial Thinking’ in Murder Row [...]

  • Join the Army, Get Laid

    The Danger Room notes that the ad by the British Armoured Infantry makes it the third television recruitment ad discovered to link military service with getting nookie. Granted, the Brits are comparatively a lot more subtle than the Russians and Ukrainians. See below for the videos.

    British Armoured Infantry

    Russian Army

    Ukrainian Army

    Of course, this is [...]

  • The Cost of Kosovo

    To the casual visitor in Kosovo, independence is everywhere. Shop owners and taxi drivers wax on about freedom and independence. Every third building is spray painted with Kosovo’s semi-official graffiti saying “Jo Negociata! Vetëvendosje!” meaning “No negotiations! Independence!” On the ground, the province has been operating as a de facto independent state since NATO’s intervention [...]

  • Leading the Post-Mortem Fight against Communism

    Recently, Curzon began a controversial discussion on the evils of fascism, communism and colonialism. Indeed, some have questioned why Europe is chock full of WWII memorials or why a city like Boston has a big holocaust memorial. What about the many other genocides and ethnic cleansings? Taking the 20th century, we can find at least [...]

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