Russia cannot disappear from the face of the earth. It is still a large urbanised country and home to many educated people. That’s why I would like to see a quick end to the violence and that the isolation of the Russians is not taken to extremes.
Otherwise we are threatened with a civilisational catastrophe, a kind of return to the dark ages. It worries me greatly that the barbarism which has long afflicted people in Russia, is on the rise again. We must help to prevent this.
In her book, “The Future is History”, author Masha Gessen shows us an oppressive vision of Russia, a country that has been unable to reclaim its soul after the end of the Soviet Union. Her semi-factual novel, based on various interviews and reports, tells the personal tales of three generations and at the same time acts as a pyscho-social analysis of the Soviet legacy.
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A bitter fight for influence is underway in cyberspace and Russian hackers are centre stage. But we still think of them in terms of stereotypes - and with a large pinch of imagination.
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For many observers abroad, the protests in Iran came as a surprise. But those who know the Islamic Republic know that women’s struggle against oppression and violence has been underway for decades.
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The scientist Maria Teresa Escalas lives in her modernist home in Mallorca, overlooking a rocky bay called Cala Santanyí.
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Once central Africa was in the grip of western colonial powers. Today Russia is using the region to restore and amplify its political clout.
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While one man in the capital steers Russia, more and more people struggle to make ends meet. Images from a crisis-ridden country.
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