Vladimir Putin

Our Best Stuff on Donald Trump, Joe Exotic, and the Xi-Putin Summit
Plus: Deepfakes are here and it’s going to get crazy.

Does Putin Have a ‘Shadow Army’?
Wagner Group mercenaries have suffered setbacks in Ukraine but still maintain a global footprint: A Dispatch Explainer.

The Alternative to Winning in Ukraine Is Endless War
Advocates for a hasty peace are wrong to think Russia will keep its promises or stop with Ukraine.

Authoritarianism’s Bad Year
Putin bungled his war with Ukraine, and China and Iran contended with massive protests.

Stalin’s Georgia Comeback
The dictator’s image is improving thanks to Russian propaganda efforts and a lackluster Western response.

Putin’s Dangerous Blend of Propaganda and Hypocrisy
If democracy is a corrupt ‘Western’ concept, why pretend what you’re doing is democratic?