Open Season: The assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the outset of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran sets a dangerous precedent. Here, A poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an anti-U.S. placard are carried in Tehran, Iran, April 1, 2026.

Law and Justice

Amid War in Mideast, Lingering Questions Over Killing Iran’s Leader

by James D. Zirin April 23, 2026April 23, 2026

Assassination isn’t illegal under U.S. law, but don’t tell Trump. A legal primer.

After The Fall: Repression, cynicism, and fear have extinguished post-Soviet hopes for democratic reform. Here, pro-democracy demonstrators file across Moscow’s Crimean Bridge, February 23, 1990.

Books

The Price of a Lost Russia: A Correspondent’s Eulogy

by Markos Kounalakis April 22, 2026April 21, 2026

Foreign Policy

Trump’s Iran Strike: What It Says About Russia—and Us

by Markos Kounalakis February 28, 2026March 15, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin has intensified winter drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in an effort to break civilian morale.

Russia's War on Ukraine

Putin’s Energy Blitzkrieg is Backfiring

by Tamar Jacoby January 29, 2026January 28, 2026

Trump’s scramble for a Nobel may be giving Ukraine more leverage than any battlefield success.

Russia's War on Ukraine

Could Trump’s Narcissism Save Ukraine?

by Bill Scher November 26, 2025November 25, 2025

Julia Ioffe, the author, and her new book, Motherland.

Books

Russia Through a Feminist Lens

by Alexander Nazaryan October 21, 2025October 21, 2025

Venezuela. Presideint Nicolas Maduro on indigenous peoples day

Foreign Policy

Venezuela’s Best Chance for Freedom

by Markos Kounalakis October 17, 2025October 16, 2025

Firefighters work on the site of a burning building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia's War on Ukraine

A Deadly Night in Kyiv Makes a Mockery of the Peace Process

by Tamar Jacoby August 29, 2025August 29, 2025

Trump's Washington, D.C. Troop Deployment is illustrated here.

Politics

Trump’s Troop Deployment: Why It’s Both Ominous and Stupid

by James D. Zirin August 21, 2025August 21, 2025

Politics

Poland’s Trump Conundrum—and Vice Versa

by Tamar Jacoby May 7, 2025May 5, 2025

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vladimir putin

Amid War in Mideast, Lingering Questions Over Killing Iran’s Leader

The Price of a Lost Russia: A Correspondent’s Eulogy

Trump’s Iran Strike: What It Says About Russia—and Us

Putin’s Energy Blitzkrieg is Backfiring

Could Trump’s Narcissism Save Ukraine?

Russia Through a Feminist Lens

Venezuela’s Best Chance for Freedom

A Deadly Night in Kyiv Makes a Mockery of the Peace Process

Trump’s Troop Deployment: Why It’s Both Ominous and Stupid

Poland’s Trump Conundrum—and Vice Versa

What Donald Trump Could Learn from Bill Clinton About the Bond Market

Death by a Thousand Papercuts

Beyond Virtue Signaling on Ukraine and Russia

Narrative Vehicles

The Roberts Court: Poised to Bless the Trump Ballroom

Dead Reckoning

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