Xi Says World Is At Risk of ‘Law of the Jungle’ as He Hails China-Russia Links

THE GUARDIAN: Chinese president hosts Putin in Beijing and welcomes relationship as stabilising global force

Xi Jinping said the world was at risk of regressing into the “law of the jungle” and hailed the China-Russia relationship as a stabilising global force as he hosted Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, just days after hosting Donald Trump.

The Chinese leader welcomed the Russian president with pomp and pageantry as the pair began talks in the Great Hall of the People.

Chinese soldiers stood in position as a military band played the Russian and Chinese national anthems for the leaders in central Beijing. Children waved Russian and Chinese flags and cheered: “Welcome, welcome!” in Chinese before the pair entered the Great Hall.

The scene was reminiscent of Trump’s high-profile meeting with Xi in Beijing last week, when the leaders of the world’s two largest economies discussed issues from trade and investment, to the Iran conflict and Taiwan. » | Alastair McCready in Taipei | Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Putin Is Facing Growing Disenchantment among Russian Elites | Mark Galeotti

May 7, 2026 | “There is a sense that he’s really lost touch with the country.”

There is a “growing disenchantment among the Russian elites” with Putin’s war on Ukraine, says historian and director of Mayak Intelligence Mark Galeotti.

Ist Trump ein Russischer Einfluß-Agent? "Erdrückende Indizien"

Apr 2, 2026 | Sandra Navidi hält Trump für ein Asset, einen Einfluss-Agenten, Putins. Sie nennt Angriffe auf Justiz, Medien und Fed sowie den Ausstieg aus der NATO und Ukraine als Muster.

Putin’s Frozen Assets Could Bring Europe ‘to a Standstill’

Dec 13, 2025 | “If it were to fail, capital markets might come to a standstill.”

It would be risky for the Belgian securities depository Euroclear to seize Russian assets and give them to Ukraine to fund their war effort, as it could unbalance the European economy, says Belgian professor of financial law at KU Leuven University Veerle Colaert.

Putin Envoy Suggests Elon Musk Could Build a Russia-Alaska Tunnel

Oct 19, 2025 | “It’s his job to dangle really tantalising business proposals in front of Trump.”

A Putin envoy proposed involving Elon Musk’s Boring Company in a far-fetched plan for a Russia-Alaska tunnel: a play for postwar US business, says former Moscow Times journalist Charles Hecker.

Putin’s Situation Is ‘Extremely Grave’ | Sir Bill Browder

Sep 5, 2025 | Sir Bill Browder joins Times Radio’s Maddie Hale to analyse reports Russia’s economy has slipped into “technical stagnation”, how Vladimir Putin forces state companies to pay for his war and Donald Trump continues to choose a diplomatic path towards peace in Ukraine but warns “something is going to happen”.

Rise of Russia’s Oligarchs: How They Seized Power and Built Empires | PARTS 1 & 2 | SLICE WHO

Nov 14, 2024 | At the turn of the century, Russia's oligarchs had amassed unimaginable fortunes, building financial empires in the chaos following the Soviet Union’s collapse. These powerful men controlled Russia’s key industries, wielding influence that rivaled the state. They built their wealth by seizing state assets through savvy, often ruthless deals, becoming billionaires in just a few years.

Among them was Boris Berezovsky, once a kingmaker in Russian politics and a symbol of the new elite. Berezovsky helped launch Putin to power, only to later become his fiercest enemy. As Russia’s government began reclaiming these oligarchs’ assets and dismantling their empires, Berezovsky led a high-stakes battle from exile.

This documentary dives into the fortunes built, the backroom deals, and the conflicts that arose between Russia’s billionaire class and a state determined to regain control, revealing the untold drama of wealth, betrayal, and power at the heart of modern Russia.

‘Putin Saw BREXIT Hiatus as Opportunity’

Oct 20, 2024 | Former British Military Intelligence Officer, Philip Ingram, confirms that Remainers were gaslit as scaremongers by the Brexit cabal for their warnings that Brexit would embolden our enemies eg Vladimir Putin. Events now prove that Remainers were right to heed these warnings and it's important to remember who told the truth and who misled/lied.

Cameron should NEVER have called that stupid Brexit referendum. It is deplorable that Cameron called it. – © Mark Alexander

How Putin’s Demand for Ruble Payments for Gas Will Play Out (w/ Richard Wolff)

Mar 30, 2022 • Germany buys 40% of its gas from Russia, via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. These contracts are in euros and dollars, yet Russia is now demanding payment in Roubles. Germany has declined and warned that there may be shortages and rationing of gas.

Panorama: Putin's Secret Riches (2016)

Vladimir Putin has been accused of corruption on a breathtaking scale. His critics say he's used his power to amass a secret fortune, so is the Russian president really one of the richest people in the world? Reporter Richard Bilton meets former Kremlin insiders who say they know how Putin's riches are hidden.

'Eurasian Economic Union a Huge Wake-up Call for US and Its Power'

Russia has secured another huge economic deal, by bringing together some of its neighbours, to create the largest common market on Post-Soviet territory. It's hoped the new union - with Belarus and Kazakhstan - will compete with the economic powerhouses of the EU and the US. Patrick Young, an expert in global financial markets, joins RT to discuss this deal.

If the West Wants to Hurt Putin, Could Saudi Arabia Do Its Dirty Work?

THE GUARDIAN – ECONOMICS BLOG: Europe depends on Russian oil and gas exports, so an embargo may not be practical. But there is another way to apply pressure

Russia is vulnerable to sanctions. Economic weakness caused the collapse of the Soviet Union a quarter of a century ago and – the self-enrichment of the oligarchs apart – not much has changed since. Energy exports to the rest of the world pay for imports of machines and consumer goods. The population is ageing and there has been little industrial diversification. » | Posted by Larry Elliott | Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Russia Swaps Libya’s Debt for Deals
BBC: Russia has agreed to cancel $4.5bn (£2.3bn) of Libyan debt in exchange for major contracts for Russian firms.

The announcement came during a visit to Tripoli on Thursday by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

The two countries signed deals on energy co-operation, military assistance and construction of a 500km (310-mile) railway line in Libya.

Libya was a big importer of Soviet weaponry during the Cold War, when it accumulated large debts.

Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom plans large-scale exploration and production projects with Libya's national energy company. They will include liquefied natural gas installations and gas-fired electricity plants in Libya.

Russia will provide the technology for Libya to build a major rail link between Sirte and Benghazi. Construction is expected to take four years.

Gazprom is also holding preliminary talks with Nigeria about a multibillion-dollar project to deliver Nigerian gas to Europe via a pipeline across the Sahara.

The project is costed at $10bn for the pipeline and $3bn for other installations, delivering up to 30bn cubic metres a year of gas to Europe. The 4,128km (2,580-mile) pipeline from Nigeria will cross Niger and Algeria.

Mr Putin said Libya "is orientated towards the most active co-operation with Russia in all areas".

President Putin is now in Sardinia for talks with Italian Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi.

The Italian firm Eni is also involved in big energy projects in Libya and already has a close partnership with Gazprom. [Source: Russia Swaps Libya Debt for Deals]

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)