Lisa Haseldine

Mikhail Gorbachev’s legacy will forever centre around his successful, albeit far from painless, promise to open the USSR, and Russia, to the rest of the world. He brought about the end of the Cold War, allowing the West to breathe a collective sigh of relief. However, my debt to him is more personal. For without Gorbachev, I almost certainly would not exist. Gorbachev’s accession as eighth, and final, leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 marked a turning point in the country’s history. The politicians who chose him could hardly have predicted quite what his rule would entail.

On this day in 2020, Belarus held presidential elections. Standing against the dictatorial incumbent of 26 years Alexandr Lukashenko was Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. An unlikely candidate, English teacher Tsikhanouskaya decided to stand for election in place of her vlogger husband Siarhei, who was arrested and subsequently jailed for 18 years after the authorities refused to register his own candidacy for the contest. Dismissed as a threat by Lukashenka on account of being a ‘housewife’, Tsikhanouskaya was permitted to run. Hugely underestimated, her rallies attracted tens of thousands of supporters, making them the largest in Belarus’s post-Soviet history.

As Russia has stepped up its military campaign in Ukraine, the crackdown at home has intensified. The Kremlin has suppressed news sources that didn’t align with its world view, squashing the country’s last remaining independent media. But even Vladimir Putin couldn’t quite plug all the gaps as the truth about the reality of his deadly campaign continued to trickle back to Russians at home. Frequently this was happening via social media. At the time of the invasion, an increasing number of Russians, nearly 40 per cent, according to the independent Russian polling organisation Levada Center, most often got their news this way.

A strange video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is currently circulating online. In it, he sits at his presidential table, dressed in his trademark khaki t-shirt. Staring straight down the camera, he addresses the Ukrainian people: ‘Dear citizens!’ At first glance, it could really be one of Zelensky’s nightly addresses. Except, almost immediately, you notice the meaty disembodied hand gripping him by the left shoulder. With apparent distress, Zelensky continues, announcing the surrender of Ukraine on ‘land, sea and air’. The meaty arm shakes him to get him to spit the words out, committing Ukraine to ‘complete denazification’ within a month of signing.

This morning, the UK woke up to the largest rail strike in thirty years. As many as 50,000 workers are striking, with just one in five trains running across the country. Commuters have been told to work from home or travel by other means while stations are deserted. This scenario is one that Brits will have to get used to. The RMT rail union is to strike again on Thursday and Saturday and has vowed to continue striking for ‘as long as it takes’ to get the 7 per cent pay rise it demands. The RMT argue that the 3 per cent rise offered by Network Rail does little to plug the gap caused by rising inflation and the cost of living crisis. There really does seem no end in sight. At least not a swift one.

Today is Russia Day. A muted affair compared to the pompous and bellicose displays seen on Victory Day, today is the day Russia commemorates no longer being a part of the Soviet Union and becoming the Russian Federation instead. Unlike other patriotic holidays in the country, most ordinary Russians pay little attention to its significance. The end of the Soviet Union and the ensuing ‘Perestroika’ period was filled with economic hardship and upheaval, and is therefore a time many would prefer to forget. Today, for most Russians, is just a nice day off, filled with wholesome family activities, the odd bit of cultural indulgence in museums and the like, and a lot of socialising with family and friends, nothing more.

Two Brits and a Moroccan national captured while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death by a court in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. Accused of being ‘mercenaries’ committed to ‘carrying out acts of terrorism’ and ‘seizing power by force’, Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Brahim Saadoun have a month to appeal the sentence handed down by the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR). Widely considered a show trial by the West, the Russian media covered the fighters’ court case with earnest gravity. Now their sentence has been handed down, Russia’s coverage has only expanded, capitalising on the propaganda opportunities it has brought them.

Russian disinformation has reached new levels of absurdity. According to the pro-Kremlin media, the UK is on the verge of cannibalism. The unlikely source of this terrifying rumour? None other than TV presenter, journalist and part-time farmer Jeremy Clarkson. Over the past few weeks, the British media has been awash with reports on the spiralling cost of food, utilities and just about everything else. The government and commentators alike have drawn links between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cost of living crisis engulfing the country. You’d be hard-pressed to miss it. It seems the Russian media have also picked up on the notes of alarm coming from the UK and in the process, have stumbled across Clarkson’s musings.