The last gasp of imperial Russia

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a last, clumsy, self-defeating attempt to assert its control over people who want to be free from Moscow’s dark shadow.

Russia’s slide into tyranny

After Soviet communist dictatorship collapsed, Russia’s brief flirtation with democracy descended into autocracy as an ever more powerful President centred absolute power in his own hands.

Don’t fall for Putin’s propaganda

Sanctions and military aid will help Ukraine survive Russia’s brutish invasion, but dismantling Putin’s ludicrous justifications for the war may be just as important in the court of world opinion.

The martyrdom of Alexei Navalny

As protests in Belarus continue, the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny shows that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is equally afraid of losing his iron grip on power.

High on rebellion

The Australian Capital Territory’s new cannabis laws are at odds with Australia’s federal laws, but should the federal government stay out of the argument?