Veniamin Popov

Following the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States felt that it would always be the lone superpower and that its hegemony would not be challenged. The failure of American policy in Iraq, followed by a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, did not undercut Washington’s claim to global dominance. When Russia demanded an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, even though previous US leaders had assured Moscow that Eastern Europe would not be included in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the USA, confident in its impunity, simply ignored Russia’s proposals. When Moscow was compelled to initiate…

The decline of civic life in the US is primarily down to the de-facto absence of the freedom of press. This freedom is only proclaimed in words, but in reality, a single point of view is imposed on everyone. This has furthermore exacerbated the divisions in American society. The highly acclaimed primetime TV host, Tucker Carlson, who was recently fired, alleged that the American media is prohibited from discussing important topics that affect the future of the United States and the whole world: “The undeniably big topics, the ones that will define our future, get virtually no discussion at all: war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources…

The special military operation in Ukraine has served as a watershed moment in the evolution of new international relations. The West, led by the United States, was able to rally behind the imposition of unprecedentedly broad sanctions against Russia. At the same time, our adversaries applied immense strain on emerging economies, coercing them to align with their efforts against Russia. However, the global power balance has shifted. The countries of the so-called “Global South” wish to live and act freely and autonomously, defending their own interests. Washington’s diktat is becoming increasingly bothersome, which is not surprising given that emerging countries want to establish their lives according to their own norms, with no outside guidance…