[ What follows is the entire text of Vladimir Putin’s speech at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi. ] Participants in the plenary session, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to welcome you all in Sochi at the anniversary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. The moderator has already mentioned that this is…
We have read a great deal about a new Cold War since the U.S. cultivated the coup of February 2014 in Ukraine and the nation was tragically divided against itself. Some of us have ruminated in print, in this publication and elsewhere, on this emergent reality. With the back-to-back announcements…
We all are already quite familiar with usable lying. We call these ‘white lies’. “No, darling, you don’t look fat.” “Sorry I didn’t call. I lost your phone number.” “Your kids are so doggone cute.” And thank goodness! Right? We’ve all avoided the harsh consequences of total honesty, smoothed over…