When a truthful person tells a lie, people take it for truth. But when Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s Wagner Group—a disinformation ace and liar who was indicted for his internet troll farm’s role in the 2016 US elections—says the truth about the wrongness of the war from the Ukrainian soil and after that crusades with his men towards Moscow for “justice”, it shocked everybody—but not the Ukrainians.
Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, things were not going as planned. Everybody had predicted that Ukraine would fall in a matter of days. That did not happen. Though Russia could occupy more than 25 per cent of Ukraine, it had to retreat from Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson, thanks to the spirited fightback by the Ukrainian armed forces. Analysts say there were drawbacks in planning, and the intel collected by Russians from their Ukrainian support bases was misleading. Borrowed from the post-World War II era, the ideas of denazification and demilitarisation were not understood. The number of forces deployed in the ‘special military operation’was not significant enough to hold and manage the territories. Above all, the Ukrainian people stood against occupation. Ukraine started lobbying with the west for arms and other support, and the narrative quickly changed into Russia vs west, where Ukraine was a mere proxy. This impression that Russia is fighting alone against the big alliance that is backing Ukraine also helped widen public support in Russia.
Denne historien er fra July 16, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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Denne historien er fra July 16, 2023-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
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William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
