• OPINION

  Secretive Russian billionaire vents to US conservatives

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 13/03/2018

  » It's not every day that a Russian billionaire submits a op-ed piece to the Daily Caller, the conservative US website. When the billionaire in question is as media-shy as Oleg Deripaska, something extraordinary is going on. As the unfortunate recipient of an oversized role in the "Trump-Russia" scandal, he has had enough and is not quite sure how to defend himself.

• OPINION

  Is there a case for universal basic income?

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 11/02/2019

  » The first results of Finland's two-year experiment with a universal basic income are in, and if they're confirmed by further research, they will probably hurt the unconditional income cause. The trial run showed that "money for nothing" makes people happier but doesn't inspire them to find work any more than traditional unemployment benefits would.

• OPINION

  A Brexit lesson from the cradle of democracy

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 16/01/2019

  » The Macedonian parliament's vote to rename the country and thus remove the biggest obstacle to its integration into Western institutions is evidence that intractable political issues are best resolved through the traditional backroom dealings of representative democracy rather than through the direct expression of popular will.

• OPINION

  Putin lacks the clout to cut isles deal with Abe

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 24/01/2019

  » The window of opportunity for Russia and Japan to officially end World War II with a peace treaty narrowed again after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Moscow on Tuesday failed to end in a breakthrough. There's still time for Mr Abe to secure his legacy, but a lot depends on President Vladimir Putin's increasingly shaky domestic standing.

• OPINION

  How to stick it to Europe: scrap Brexit

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 06/12/2018

  » The top European court now is highly likely to rule that the UK can cancel Brexit unilaterally. For all the domestic political hurdles such a move would face, it's intriguing to ponder how Europe would take it if the UK did cancel Brexit, and what the consequences would be for the European Union.

• OPINION

  Death, diamonds, Russia and Africa

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 06/08/2018

  » The murder of three Russian journalists last week in a remote area of the Central African Republic, the world's poorest country according to the World Bank, has turned a spotlight on what looks like a big Kremlin play for influence and resources in Africa. Where China has spent decades and billions of dollars trying to entrench itself there, Russia is offering its brute force and strong appetite for risk. It's already making headway.

• OPINION

  Journalist murders are a major problem in the EU

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 01/03/2018

  » The time has come to ask whether membership in the European Union (EU) is still a quality assurance seal for democracy and the rule of law among member states. The bloc has clearly failed to enforce its stated values on its periphery. Any additional expansion can only dilute them further.

• OPINION

  Vladimir Putin struggles with enthusiasm problem

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 15/09/2017

  » According to the Daily Beast's latest scoop, "a Russian operative" used Facebook to organise an anti-Muslim event in Twin Falls, Idaho, that attracted a grand total of four people. Inside Russia, the Kremlin appears to have a similar inability to stoke crowds.

• OPINION

  Merkel's lacklustre win is good for the nation

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 26/09/2017

  » The sour faces of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's allies after the first exit poll results for the federal election were announced on Sunday night will prompt much talk of a Pyrrhic victory for Ms Merkel. But the outcome of Sunday's election could be good both for her and for German democracy: It has clarified the options for the next governing coalition, and it has made sure there will be vocal opposition to the government from both the left and the right.

• OPINION

  The mundane radicalism of terror

  News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 22/06/2017

  » The UK tabloids hesitated about what to call the white driver of a van who crashed into a crowd of worshippers at the Finsbury Park mosque in London on Monday. But Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted furiously that he was no less a terrorist than the perpetrators of recent Islamic State-inspired attacks.

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