Politics

OPINION: Five centuries on, Russia advances, and Europe still bargains as if this time is different

Stuart Dowell
 08.09.2025, 19:49
Russia has had the same <em>modus operandi</em> since Ivan the Terrible crowned himself Tsar of All the Russias in 1547: expansion. Photos: PAP/EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL; Viktor Vasnetsov, Tretyakov Gallery, Wikimedia Commons
Russia has had the same modus operandi since Ivan the Terrible crowned himself Tsar of All the Russias in 1547: expansion. Photos: PAP/EPA/ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL; Viktor Vasnetsov, Tretyakov Gallery, Wikimedia Commons

Putin’s 800-drone strike was the latest chapter in Russia’s expansionist history.