Notables

Marlene Laruelle offers a sweeping intellectual history of the ideas underpinning contemporary Russia. Moving beyond the standard image of Putin’s rule as mere autocracy or kleptocracy, she uncovers how diverse currents (nationalism, Eurasianism, and moral conservatism) have fused into a distinct “Putinist” worldview. Through a rich, interdisciplinary lens, the book examines how ideology functions as connective tissue between state institutions, the Orthodox Church, and foreign policy. It reveals that to understand Putin’s Russia, one must grasp its evolving systems of meaning-making and belief.

Howard Amos returns to the Pskov region, Russia’s forgotten western edge, to tell the story of a borderland where the ghosts of empire still linger. Once a thriving medieval centre of trade, Pskov is now a symbol of decline and endurance. Through encounters with villagers, historians, and even the priest closest to Putin, Amos captures how ordinary lives are shaped by centuries of imperial collapse and renewal. Blending memoir, reportage, and history, this evocative travelogue portrays a “hidden Russia” suspended between past and future, Europe, and its own fading myths.

Lucy Ash traces the transformation of the Russian Orthodox Church from a persecuted institution to a powerful arm of the state. Exploring its alliance with the Kremlin, she details how religion has become central to Moscow’s ideological project: priests preaching national supremacy, faith enlisted to legitimise power, and doctrine intertwined with the security apparatus. Combining archival research and field reporting, Ash exposes this “unholy symbiosis” of cross and crown. Through vivid portraits of believers and dissenters alike, she shows how the church’s revival fuels Russia’s nationalism and sanctifies its wars.

In the third volume of his ongoing chronicle, Blair A. Ruble gathers a compelling collection of works by Ukrainian artists confronting the trauma of war. Writers, painters, filmmakers, and performers transform their craft into a form of resistance, showing how creativity can rally a nation under siege. This anthology reveals art as both weapon and refuge—strengthening identity, sustaining hope, and drawing global attention to Ukraine’s struggle. Through these artistic testaments, Ruble illustrates how culture itself has become a frontline in the fight for sovereignty and memory.

Stephan Kieninger reconstructs the post-Cold War diplomacy of the 1990s through the career of U.S. statesman Strobe Talbott. Drawing on private diaries and newly declassified sources, he examines the Clinton administration’s dual strategy of integrating Russia while expanding NATO. Far from isolating Moscow, American policymakers aimed to build a cooperative European security framework, embodied in initiatives such as the NATO-Russia Founding Act. By revisiting these efforts, Kieninger challenges modern narratives of Western betrayal and offers a nuanced account of how post-Soviet engagement and misunderstanding shaped today’s geopolitical fault lines.