The good, the bad and the dancing king

In my previous post, I looked at the frequencies of different countries and organizations in Putin’s speeches. But we can also check which countries appear more frequently in positive and negative contexts, like I did once. This time I made a list of all countries of the world plus some organizations like NATO and the … Continue reading The good, the bad and the dancing king →

NATO’s expansion as a fig leaf for Putin’s true obsession

Our crazy times forge strange alliances. Pope Francis claims that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “provoked”. With this opinion, he joins the company of left-wing intellectuals like Sahra Wagenknecht and right-wing populists like Alice Weidel. Who could only have imagined that these radically different people would join their forces, spreading the idea that NATO and … Continue reading NATO’s expansion as a fig leaf for Putin’s true obsession →

“The exercises are going according to plan”, or How Putin exploits the rules of cooperative interaction

I'm not sure if this photo was really taken immediately after Macron's calling Putin, but it is a good illustration. The Élysée Palace published the telephone call between Macron and Putin a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine (the French transcript can be found here and an English translation here). This text gives … Continue reading “The exercises are going according to plan”, or How Putin exploits the rules of cooperative interaction →

Putin’s Bipolar World and AI’s Empathy

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. At the International Economic Forum (which was less international than usual), Margarita Simonyan asked if artificial intelligence represents a danger for the humanity. Putin replied that it was too early to speak about that. AI doesn’t have empathy and a soul yet. That’s a dangerous idea, I think. If … Continue reading Putin’s Bipolar World and AI’s Empathy →

A Gopnik and a President

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. The latest version of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was peculiar not only because it was attended by the Taliban, or because drinks and ice-cream were served by the robot Dunyasha dressed as a Soviet barmaid. Unkind people say that Dunyasha used to be a sex doll in … Continue reading A Gopnik and a President →

Russia doesn’t take away, Russia returns!

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. Putin's story-telling has taken another unexpected turn, this time from the whining "It's all NATO's fault, we are only defending ourselves!" to the audacious "What's ours is ours!". Again, Putin is hiding behind a historical figure, which is literally and figuratively bigger than he is. During his meeting with … Continue reading Russia doesn’t take away, Russia returns! →

Does Putin’s spontaneous speech show signs of cognitive decay?

Русская версия внизу. Russian version below. Is Putin seriously ill? Photo from kremlin.ru. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many people (including myself) have been wondering whether Putin has gone bonkers in his bunker or not. This is a pressing question because Russia has enough nuclear weapons to erase the Western civilization from … Continue reading Does Putin’s spontaneous speech show signs of cognitive decay? →

Why does Putin avoid the pronoun “I”?

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. Many people outside of Russia know what Putin says. Not many people know how he says it. But his way of speaking can reveal a lot about him and his strategies, so it’s definitely worth examining it closer. One well-known peculiarity of Putin’s speech is his avoidance of the … Continue reading Why does Putin avoid the pronoun “I”? →

Strategically unimpressive: Putin’s speech on May 9

Putin speaks at Victory Day parade. Hardly any speech had been so anticipated recently as Putin’s address at the military parade on May 9, and hardly any has been met with so much disappointment. The world expected some big gestures — from announcing general mobilization to committing suicide in public. Instead, we heard a rather … Continue reading Strategically unimpressive: Putin’s speech on May 9 →

Why Putin avoids talking about the war in Ukraine

Russian version below. Русская версия внизу. I’ve analyzed Putin’s speech during diverse public appearances using the transcripts from the official website kremlin.ru. The data clearly indicate that he is not as keen on talking about the “special military operation” in Ukraine, as he was in the end of February. The graph below shows the relative … Continue reading Why Putin avoids talking about the war in Ukraine →