The Rest of the Iceberg will help you understand the world. It answers questions and explains the backstories so you can make sense of what you see on the surface. That understanding will help you engage the world’s challenges better.
All tagged Russia
Public protests against governments are common. But it’s unusual when a neighbouring country takes advantage of the protests and invades. That’s what happened to Ukraine in 2014, when demonstrations in the capital city of Kiev prompted Russia to attack. Within weeks, Russian soldiers seized thousands of square miles of Ukrainian territory, including the strategic Crimean peninsula. They are still there. Ukraine’s government is no longer sovereign over all of Ukraine. How did this happen?
If you visit russianrailways.com, you can buy a ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok. It’s a journey of almost 6,000 miles that takes you across eight time zones all the way to the Pacific Ocean in seven days. Russia is much larger than any other country. The next three biggest—Canada, the USA, and China—are less than 60% its size. Why is Russia so big?
The Syrian civil war began in 2011. Since then, more Syrians have died than Americans in World War Two. Half the population have fled their homes, and more than five million have left the country and become refugees. It is impossible to understand suffering on this scale.
Why is this war still going on? What is it even about? Here’s a ten-point answer.
In 1991, this question seemed like an easy one to answer. The Soviet Union had just come to an end, the other Communist states in Eastern Europe were no more. Since then, the remarkable growth of China has made the question more complicated. In 1991, the average person in China lived on US $360 a year. Now, the figure is US $8,500. When America’s capitalist economy dived into recession in 2008 and China’s didn’t, Chinese officials were quick to argue that their system was superior. So can Communism work?
Have you ever seen Vladimir Putin, Russia’s leader, smile? Probably not. Whenever he appears on the Western news, the report is that Russia has done something sinister, and he certainly looks capable of whatever it is.
