The sacred song of war

It was Peter the Great who created a new capital on the Baltic, and Catherine the Great who extended Russian influence south and west. Sweden, Poland, and the Ottomans all felt the Russian expansion in a century of geopolitical drama. This, says presenter Misha Glenny, is all par ...  Show more

Russia's massive empire was not like that of Britain or France. It expanded across the land, making it more like the United States of America. And from very small beginnings, it became the biggest contiguous landmass in the world. Presenter Misha Glenny speaks to James Hill of th ...  Show more

False flags, brutal military tactics and aspirations of greatness – Putin’s approach to the war in Syria, as he tries to prove Russia is still a power-broker in the Middle East. To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:Professor Angela ...  Show more

In the final episode of the latest series of Putin, Jonny Dymond and three expert guests examine how the Russian president shaped the war in Ukraine between March and October 2022, and how the war has begun to shape him.With Russia’s military position weakened by fierce Ukrainian ...  Show more

We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: To understand the tragedy of this war, it is worth going back beyond the last few weeks and months, and even beyond Vlad ...  Show more

'War and Peace' by the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy charts the story of Russia during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, covering the pandemonium and brutality of the battlefield, as well as the equally intense dramas and loves of several families. It is a monumental ...  Show more