Many countries fall silent to honour their war dead at the start of November, but the rituals of remembrance are very different here in Italy. Nothing seems settled. There’s no single event or occasion, only rival dates, ceremonies and stories. …
Vladimir Putin’s war on history
Vladimir Putin came to the world’s notice, in 2000, styled as a New Russian Democrat. He had been an aide to the charismatic Petersburg reformist mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. His assumption of the supreme political office of president — after a …