Historian of the Cold War and after. Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor, Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. The author of “To Run the World.”https://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mtj7s67qe22zJust finished the copy-edits for my new book about Russia's energy empire (Power Play). Reads well. I think you'll all enjoy it. Here's the place-holder: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sergey-radchenko/power-play/9781541703919/?lens=publicaffairs.20 Aug 2026 12:12 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtj7s67qe22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mse3gzc7yc2mThrilled to say that the great Archie Brown has written a 29(!)-page review of To Run the World, and Una Bergmane's excellent book, Politics of Uncertainty, for The English Historical Review. Read it here: https://watermark02.silverchair.com/ceaf192.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAA2AwggNcBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggNNMIIDSQIBADCCA0IGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMBMoZ6-kNbFWJzvwsAgEQgIIDEzRE3B90zVjYC3utnAg8wSwPMBVMPuGWXvC_LbT1VPdHUJY1KJI7ntr3B_YeSNRq_tDIf9Aa_5NAsDbKWc54TaCQFrWlbW9sWA0o7BWAaUzaf9cqngLrm5HrxK3agGYSTOhbYCiZnzxjzUszl5W0wyelfHwBmbwaAVqA-nAlIDlMPgXErkJx_YKqV69upxOAhuZ93ygq3-VoLLMidyBp0oer4okBJj6-Yhxf5OMFdztlatGWcuE8hAmfEuo3D5Je9PH-9Nx10ikUlUEevI0kUVvFsJFLxny30bNKBfybnDFVOu0dr2jFJEZ_PUBhIJgTp-698zF5ydsEREYwns0S8Z4Xxt32ZEnNnfSn75cC1y-WS1q0QKnPCvjmzGLgeY-pcmqARnU4zdocnMpr3lRE5H5ZL0jG7IUdO0UhL7CHd3eLXieWDTM0mQLPjL1RWGrU8lnXsOSVUUnIckzFEyPzzHQ-vKcUBp8VRfCOY2O7DSKChM521dnoCreSMQtB3cAvK1i8xWQVQzi0oQnzZ1D8abEOWmg8gh1hg89knk_4NhyUss6a45l8CleOYNxr7ZETDlvV9HKeQsb8kyHElp662OrNCovVKKuA_m0wbY-t6sWNr2xl0dOJLth_j9rddCEPXI_03E9j_2S-qXItuK59JBk94bV3mC_Fih67bMUSB767Ni7TfA-d-N60GOdQUi-42obEZve4kix8i8i9u-yNppbmBdEEvES_zhNO35KfqJ2GWlZWcdHWuaSI9RLrE3tdaTbuDUJQEP74DXWSPHvwqW_KVplCtAxvO2O6aVkLWT8oPBe__0uWPW91gyBfkW4xrDcYM9B6J0yw1MqW8Ulqe-f_gF3AWz_aWfjYBv2YYADeBfbQUb21spEYn6-GWI6To-9N5iYc6Nml4HJwYmJqP6ONq0kpxtcPyamOsPMeJ9oRGunelLmcxigvS3k6TDlyVsSDh3Lo2wNg92Rp4-yNxb86ccrHFmFZusayVixLkygtTsKkG52PGFKxcBM6uSzUZjIW4iwlCdFrFzRH-XpYwXcaYnE.05 Aug 2026 17:46 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mse3gzc7yc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mrffpwr3lc2whttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlFuZxg5tcY&t=180s24 Jul 2026 12:57 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrffpwr3lc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mofbaedkh22dA controversial view, I know, but on any given day, I will take a meaningless deal that ends a war over a meaningless war that never ends.16 Jun 2026 07:22 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mofbaedkh22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mnpifwl4gs2zPutin on peace talks, China, and "Russia's place" in the world https://open.substack.com/pub/profradchenko/p/putin-on-peace-talks-china-and-russias?r=5kh861&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true.07 Jun 2026 15:31 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnpifwl4gs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mnk62b4ohc2zHad a fun discussion with @marceldirsus.com about my next book, Power Play, which will soon be published by PublicAffairs. [contains quote post or other embedded content]05 Jun 2026 12:43 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnk62b4ohc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mngzmgw3j22hExcellent. More of this please. [contains quote post or other embedded content]04 Jun 2026 06:45 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mngzmgw3j22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mmodrhtbv22pSo, if anyone missed out on my article in the Guardian about me renouncing my Russian citizenship, here is the audio version, which I read myself (at the Guardian!): https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2026/may/25/i-had-poked-the-bear-right-in-the-eye-my-fight-to-renounce-my-russian-citizenship-podcast. I've never done this genre. Let me know what you think!25 May 2026 11:10 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmodrhtbv22phttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mmbtuacdak2vSo the biggest take-away from the Putin-Xi summit is that *despite* the crazy situation in the Strait of Hormuz, China is still refusing to back Power of Siberia 2. Despite Putin trying very hard before the visit to hint that a breakthrough was in the offing. Wow.20 May 2026 11:54 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmbtuacdak2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mkmb7xjsns2zI have a piece at Le Grand Continent, where I preview the subject of my new book, which is about how Russia has used oil and gas as weapons of foreign policy. As you'd expect, this is not something Putin has come up with. The practice has deep roots going back to the 1950s. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Apr 2026 04:29 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkmb7xjsns2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mkktlwhdts2qI hope you all enjoy reading this review of Antony Beevor's new biography of Rasputin as much I enjoyed writing it. https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/63ea6ce0-351c-4317-a3c2-c06029a898bf. And buy the book!28 Apr 2026 14:53 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkktlwhdts2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mkice6ctvc2kSo, shockingly, I have an article in the Journal of Olympic Studies. https://scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jos/article-abstract/7/1/41/408914/Boycott-of-the-1980-Moscow-Olympics-The-Soviet?redirectedFrom=fulltext. It's co-authored with Mikhail Prozumenshchikov of the Russian archives, and it tells the (quite curious) story of the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.27 Apr 2026 14:39 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkice6ctvc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mkhcgc7nkc25Folks, in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine project, I need to get connected to Prime Minister Pashinyan's office. If anyone has leads/contacts, could you DM me? Many thanks!27 Apr 2026 05:07 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkhcgc7nkc25https://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mjegpuy7ys2jI spoke to Pyotr Kurzin about Russia-Ukraine. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_PcagbWb4&t=1s.13 Apr 2026 08:21 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjegpuy7ys2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mjbxgzusq225Over the last few days I received quite an overwhelming number of e-mails in relation to this piece: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/09/i-had-poked-the-bear-right-in-the-eye-my-fight-to-renounce-my-russian-citizenship. I'll try to answer them all, albeit gradually. The piece is superficially about Russia. But I think it's fundamentally about understanding one's own identity.12 Apr 2026 08:42 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjbxgzusq225https://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mj54cuu3mc2vThank, Jim. Truly humbled by all the attention this piece has been getting. It does speak to dilemmas people face: this is certainly not just my story. [contains quote post or other embedded content]10 Apr 2026 10:26 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj54cuu3mc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mizzgkvqws2uI have a long piece in the Guardian about... well, myself. As a writer and a historian, I generally tell other people's stories. So, this story was difficult to write. It took me about six months. It's about my understanding of my own identity: who, or what am I, really?09 Apr 2026 04:57 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mizzgkvqws2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3miccgubm3223We tend to assume that Trump's war against Iran is helping Putin, but this is only true if the war becomes a quagmire. That's a big if. My latest for Foreign Policy: https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/30/trump-putin-iran-war-hormuz-oil-israel-sanctions/.30 Mar 2026 18:34 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3miccgubm3223https://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mh45htkdmc2zFor UK audiences. *To Run the World* is now available in paperback (as of last week), and can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Run-World-Kremlins-Global-Power/dp/1108708595. Priced at £14.99, so never cheaper! Your leisurely beach reaching as the summer arrives.15 Mar 2026 14:24 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh45htkdmc2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mgn76cfktc2vMy review of Scott Anderson's superb book. [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Mar 2026 15:44 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgn76cfktc2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mgi4oew4ek23American-led upheaval. Do we need a new term? Some thoughts. https://open.substack.com/pub/profradchenko/p/american-led-upheaval?r=5kh861&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true07 Mar 2026 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgi4oew4ek23https://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mg7u3xwulk2rIran in the Cold War. A useful background read from To Run the World. https://open.substack.com/pub/profradchenko/p/iran-in-the-cold-war?r=5kh861&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true04 Mar 2026 08:22 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg7u3xwulk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mg5i5yqpis2yAh look what’s here: the paperback version of Two Run the World. Never been a better time to buy a copy! https://www.amazon.com/Run-World-Kremlins-Global-Power/dp/1108708595.03 Mar 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg5i5yqpis2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/radchenko.bsky.social/post/3mg54xocewc2y"Killing the chicken to scare the monkey: How Moscow and Beijing have reacted to the U.S. and Israeli strikes against the Middle East." My thoughts. https://open.substack.com/pub/profradchenko/p/killing-the-chicken-to-scare-the?r=5kh861&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true03 Mar 2026 06:22 +0000at://did:plc:ueaezd66ehotdegamt6hphi4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg54xocewc2y