The best New Statesman long reads of 2022
The stories and essays that had you (and us) gripped from start to finish this year.
ByVladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia and has been the country’s leader, with an interlude as prime minister, for more than 22 years. Putin was born in 1952, studied law at Leningrad State University and served for 15 years as a KGB officer before becoming a politician in 1991.
The West must confront its failures on Ukraine
Sanctions have not achieved their stated goal: to deny Vladimir Putin the resources to fight a prolonged war.
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Why Vladimir Putin is beholden to Stalin’s legacy
The Russian president has embraced the Soviet cult of fear and control. His invasion of Ukraine is a colossal gamble…
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Why the West underestimated Ukraine
People deny me credibility because I am female, young, east European. They have treated my country the same way.
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What would it take to make Vladimir Putin feel secure?
A security guarantee could be the only way the Kremlin would be persuaded to end its war on Ukraine.
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Why Vladimir Putin cancelled his annual year-end press conference
With his war against Ukraine foundering, the Russian president is unable or unwilling to explain himself.
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Emmanuel Macron is undermining French support for Ukraine
Paris’s commendable backing to Kyiv is too often obscured by the president’s erraticness.
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Dozhd could never have survived in Latvia
The independent Russian TV channel’s demise shows how even anti-Putin Russians are unable to completely align with hawkish Western states.
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Leader: The year of living dangerously
In a new era of permanent crisis, the past 12 months demonstrated the power of leadership – for good and…
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Nadhim Zahawi is playing into Putin’s hands, not striking nurses
Even Ukrainian workers are fighting for their own rights – that’s the point of union solidarity.
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Reviewed in short: From Derek Owusu to Luke Harding
Also featuring The Story of Architecture by Witold Rybczynski and Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow.
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What will it take for Russia to understand it’s losing the war?
After nine months of fighting Russia has yet to achieve a single war aim through force of arms.
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Is Volodymyr Zelensky losing the support of the West?
The Ukrainian president’s response to the Poland missile incident highlighted tensions with some Western leaders at a time when the…
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Poland missile explosion highlights risk of escalation in the war in Ukraine
Nato leaders have urged calm while the origin of the missile is investigated.
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What does the Poland missile explosion mean for Nato and Article 5?
What the incident means for the Nato alliance and Article 5.
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Can the Ukraine war now end only with Russia’s defeat?
We should not assume that a quick conclusion based on mutual concessions is the best way to deal with an…
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Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson proves Western support is working
The city is the only regional capital Russia was able to capture after invading in February.
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Russia has forgotten history’s lessons about waging war in winter
The Russian president wants to draw this war out; the West must help Ukraine retain its current momentum.
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Russia strengthens its anti-LGBT legislation in its fight against “Satanism”
Vladimir Putin’s struggle against the West has taken the form of a renewed assault on sexual minorities in defence of…
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Why Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the war
If the Russian president wants to stay in power, his country needs to keep fighting in Ukraine.
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