Russia is no longer an empire but not yet a "civic" nation - into this vacuum have stepped institutionalised corruption and criminality. John Lloyd traces the roots of the problem to Russia's Soviet...

Liam Halligan, in Moscow for the city's 850th celebrations, wonders about the bad news from Russia

Enlargement of the EU to the east is economically feasible, with sufficient flexibility in the west. But it is geopolitically risky. The historic fault line in Europe is between Germany and Russia,...

There is a new optimism about Russia. Douglas Hurd, who here recalls his meetings with Gorbachev and Yeltsin, says it is justified. Even the prospect of a populist president should not alarm the west

Some of the greatest literature of the Soviet era is only now becoming available in fine English translations. Sally Laird finds similar themes reverberating in new Russian writing

The expansion of Nato will serve no clear defensive purpose and is likely to strengthen reactionary forces in Russia. Rodric Braithwaite, former British ambassador in Moscow, argues that...

Edward Skidelsky shuttles between two contending realities in the new Russia

Are leftists crazy or are they charlatans? After wading through 769 pages of Mikhail Gorbachev's humourless memoirs, PJ O'Rourke thinks he has the answer

John Maddox considers how the Wellcome Trust can save Russian science

Russia's elite used to be educated in France and Germany. Now its children eat custard in the private schools of England. Rachel Polonsky asks whether this will make any difference to the course of...