1 min read
He recently published his memoir, A Misfit in Moscow: How British diplomacy in Russia failed, 2014-2019. Simply put, he has the chops to talk about the degradation of diplomacy, not only in Western relations with Russia, but how the West mismanaged critical events, beginning with the Maidan revolution in Kyiv, the Russian takeover of Crimea, and the years leading up the current war in Ukraine. Irish professor and author Geoff Roberts wrote recently that Proud is “a very welcome addition to the ranks” of Western ambassadors such as Jack Matlock and Chas Freeman in the United States, Britain’s Tony Brenton, and Tony Kevin in Australia. Why? Because they are “dissident voices that are needed more than ever amid fevered lobbying for yet further escalation of the (Ukraine) conflict.” We tap into Proud’s experience and institutional wisdom this week to challenge the conventional narratives undergirding today’s headlines: the Ukrainian’s invasion of Kursk, the pressure to allow Ukraine to use U.S/UK weapons to strike deep into Russia, and the dangers of today’s aversion to “talking to dictators.”
5 mins read
April 30th is an important date in American politics. This is the day 100 for the American President in the White House, and all attention will be on the reports of his achievements and failures. But nothing can be more critical than Peace…
6 mins read
Russia’s invasion has made ordinarily outspoken critics of antisemitism wary of criticizing Ukrainian Nazi collaborators
1 min read
Richard Sakwa has for many years been one of the most distinguished and insightful observers of relations between the West and Russia, and one of the leading critics of Western policy. In this talk with Anatol Lieven, director of the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute, Sakwa discusses his book, The Culture of the Second Cold War (Anthem 2025). The book examines the cultural-political trends and inheritances that underlie the new version of a struggle that we thought we had put behind us in 1989. Sakwa describes both the continuities from the first Cold War and the ways in which new technologies have reshaped strategies and attitudes.
