Had a fun discussion with @marceldirsus.com about my next book, Power Play, which will soon be published by PublicAffairs.
Putin should've thought of that before invading countries.
Sergej Radchenko: “Putin non ha cambiato idea, vuole la capitolazione di Kiev”
https://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2026/05/12/news/putin_pace_guerra_ucraina_radchenko-425338573/?rss
I know we are not supposed to judge the state of Sino-Russian relations by this one project alone. But nothing screams failure like the Russians repeatedly trying to claim that Power of Siberia 2 is a thing only to meet with heavy, embarrassing silence on the other side.
So the biggest take-away from the Putin-Xi summit is that *despite* the crazy situation in the Strait of Hormuz, China is still refusing to back Power of Siberia 2. Despite Putin trying very hard before the visit to hint that a breakthrough was in the offing. Wow.
🚫 Journal of Olympic Studies Vol. 7, No. 1, is a special issue: "Boycotting Montreal, Moscow, and Los Angeles: The Olympics After Détente," guest edited by Christopher Young and Robert Edelman. Featuring work by @radchenko.bsky.social and more. scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jos/issu...
Putin on peace talks, China, and "Russia's place" in the world open.substack.com/pub/profradc....
La Repubblica
I have a piece at Le Grand Continent, where I preview the subject of my new book, which is about how Russia has used oil and gas as weapons of foreign policy. As you'd expect, this is not something Putin has come up with. The practice has deep roots going back to the 1950s.
