March 31st, 2002
Several years ago, I happened to be in Israel on the eve of an election. In that particular campaign, Ariel Sharon was not a candidate. Not only was he not a candidate, in fact, he appeared to be terminally out of fashion. Read on »
March 23rd, 2002
In elections held last September, the people of Poland chose a man named Leszek Miller to be their prime minister. After this happened, I sat back and waited for the reaction in Western Europe. I waited, and I waited. Nothing happened. Read on »
January 26th, 2002
By any standard, historical or moral, the treatment of al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay has been outstanding, even exemplary. Why, then, have European and international airwaves been ringing this week with howls of condemnation? Read on »
November 11th, 2001
Rare indeed is the foreign statesman whose personality penetrates American popular culture. Rarer still are those foreigners who are both known in America, and loved as well. Read on »
September 30th, 2001
American troops have landed in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Russia’s post-communist satrapies. The Indian government has agreed, for the first time ever, to let American planes land on its soil too. Read on »
September 16th, 2001
Poised as I am, halfway between the two cultures, it was a little strange watching British reactions to events in America last week. It was a little strange even being in Britain last week. On Tuesday after hijacked planes had hit targets in Washington, where my family live, and New York, where most of my friends live, I was standing in Bond Street, dialling and redialling their numbers on my mobile telephone, unable to get through. Read on »
July 28th, 2001
The most unpleasant city in Russia - and why no one wants to leave it.
North of the Arctic Circle, roses do not grow. There are no daisies or lilies; there are no sunflowers or geraniums. Only a few species of charmless wildflower have learned to take advantage of the very short, very hot, northern summers. Read on »
July 1st, 2001
If there was ever any doubt about it, we can now quantify, with great precision, just how much the leaders of the West are willing to pay in order to take revenge on Slobodan Milosevic. Read on »
June 21st, 2001
The Cold War may be over, as George W Bush has been telling all and sundry since he arrived in Europe last week, but the imperial presidency lives on. Read on »
June 19th, 2001
President Putin’s tightening grip looks likely to crush his country’s last privately owned TV station.
By any standards NTV, the only remaining privately owned television station in Russia, is in a peculiar position. Its chief shareholder, Vladimir Gusinsky, has fled the country, having been arrested once already. Read on »