In the previous post, Russia: Geography and Empire, I summarized my thoughts on how geography shaped Russian history, which came out in my popular book War and Peace and War. That book ranges quite widely—from Russia to America, by way of Rome, Arabia, and medieval England and

In a previous blog, I have already commented on the poor quality of coverage of the Crimean crisis in the Western press. Most news articles about the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula show no understanding of the real motives of Putin or Russia. This is scary. Folks, Russia