I'm far from being a Nazi sympathizer but I hope Germany doesn't ban the AfD or jail Weidel. What they're doing in France, Romania, Brazil, what they tried to do to Trump in the US is straight from Putin's playbook. Don't play this game, Germany, it's the road to hell.

If Trump's tariffs stick, we'll have lower inflation here in the EU. All the Asian-made stuff that becomes too expensive in the US will flow here and slow down price growth. EU exports will also benefit -- they'll replace US ones in their markets.

In the eastern German countryside, the AfD is present at flea markets and village fests. They set up tents, hand out leaflets, talk to people. No other party is there. And then they don't understand why they lose and need the domestic intelligence service to find out.

Putin's writing the script for the talks. If you disregard the meaningless rhetoric, it becomes apparent that everyone -- even Zelenskyy -- is following his lead. Not because he's smart but because the others can't play convincingly from a position of strength.

душа не ведает судьбы.

...And now Massive Attack's Berlin show has been canceled. If it's because "From the river to the sea" is basically the same as "kill the Jews", it makes me uneasy. Speech should be free. (But I won't go to an antisemitic band's show, no thanks).

Derk Sauer was my teacher. He created honest Russian media as a phenomenon -- and he outlived them. But those of us who worked for him and learned from him will always bear his imprint, no matter where life may yet fling us.

My attempt at an obit. The first one I wrote while crying. meduza.io/feature/2025/0…