Homeland, Oil and Dignity

Родина, нефть и достоинство

When Simón Bolívar warned that the United States seemed destined to plague the Americas with misery in the name of liberty, he could not have imagined that one day it would be precisely a government bearing his name that would silently, gradually, and calculatedly open its doors to the influence of the very power it had spent decades denouncing as its principal enemy.

India Buys American Goodwill: $500 Billion for a Seat at the Table

Индия покупает американскую лояльность: $500 млрд за место за столом

When the U.S. Secretary of State declares that the crowning diplomatic achievement of a high-profile visit is not a new alliance commitment or a landmark joint declaration, but a promise to purchase half a trillion dollars' worth of American goods — that tells you something. Not about Indian foreign policy. About American.

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Rolling Back the Prohibition Machine: The Right Diagnosis, the Overdue Cure

Откат запретительной машины: правильный диагноз, опоздавшее лечение

When internal polling begins to show that citizens are more exhausted by news of fines and restrictions than by any external threat, that is a signal the Presidential Administration cannot afford to ignore. The signal has been heard. Lawmakers have been advised to shift their focus from "ban it" to "build it." That is the right call. Except that businesses which have already closed will not reopen on their own. And people who have already left will not come back by themselves.

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Bretton Woods Under Siege: Why Putin Flew to Beijing

Бреттон-Вудс под ударом: зачем Путин летал в Пекин

Official communiqués about "strategic partnership" and "deepening cooperation" are just the packaging. The contents matter more: Moscow and Beijing were not discussing bilateral relations — they were discussing the architecture of the world order. Specifically, who will govern the financial system that succeeds the current one, and on whose terms.

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NATO in the Storm: Ryabkov Warns, Brussels Prepares

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When Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister uses a phrase like “a direct collision with catastrophic consequences” — and does so precisely as NATO’s chiefs of staff from all 32 member states gather at alliance headquarters for the first time in a long while — this is no random choice of day for an interview. It is a signal aimed at a specific audience: Brussels, Ankara, Washington.

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Medical Checks at the Border: The State Accelerates

Медицинский контроль на въезде: государство ускоряется

When the flow of labor migration numbers millions of people per year, a three-day delay between a medical test and a deportation decision is no mere administrative detail. It is an epidemiological window in which a person carrying a dangerous infection has already integrated into the workplace, their household environment, and the transport network. New amendments close that window.

Context

Russia in 50 Years: Climate as Geopolitics

Россия через 50 лет: климат как геополитика

The world’s coldest country is warming faster than any other. Over the next half-century, Russia is set to gain an additional 2.5°C in average annual temperature. This is not an environmental statistic. It is a redistribution of resources, trade routes, and demographics. Climate change alters a nation’s geopolitical weight not through sudden catastrophes, but through a slow shift in where people can live, work, and do business.

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Taiwan and the Strait of Malacca: What Comes Next

Тайвань и Малаккский пролив: что нас ждёт дальше

Beijing has spent years openly rehearsing a naval blockade of the island. The "Joint Sword 2025" exercises and the subsequent 2026 maneuvers are not a show of force for its own sake — they are an accumulation of operational experience. The difference between a rehearsal and the real thing is a political decision, not a question of military readiness.

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The Spy in the Glass World: When Intelligence Costs More Than It’s Worth

Шпион в стеклянном мире: когда добыча информации стоит дороже, чем она сама

Intelligence is returning to its central question: What does the other side actually think and decide? The answer cannot be obtained via satellite or intercepted communications. Only a human being inside the system truly knows. But gaining access to such people — in Russia, in China — has become fundamentally different from what it was twenty years ago.

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Deportations by Faith: How Abu Dhabi Punishes Islamabad – And What It Means for Everyone Else

Депортации по признаку веры: как Абу-Даби наказывает Исламабад и что это значит для всех остальных

When a state begins deporting migrant workers based on their names – Ali, Hasan, Hussein – it’s no longer immigration policy. It’s a political message, packaged in arrest warrants. Nearly 15,000 Pakistani Shiite workers have been expelled from the UAE without charges, without access to their bank accounts, and without the right to appeal. For each one, a personal catastrophe. For the region, a new fault line.

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