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Mark Trevelyan
For Mark Trevelyan's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in Moscow in February via video link.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 19, 2024
What are Putin's top challenges in new six-year term?
Putin won six more years in the Kremlin with a landslide victory in an election where he faced no serious competition. Now he faces important challenges.
Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile at Plesetsk cosmodrome via video link in Moscow on April 20.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 9, 2023
Russian nuclear test would prompt others to follow suit
Only North Korea has conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion during this century.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, speaks in an unknown location, in this still image taken from video published on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 25, 2023
Prigozhin's presumed death may create new problems for Putin
A full investigation of the cause of the crash is unlikely to shake the belief that he was killed as an act of vengeance for staging a mutiny.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Alexey Sossinsky left with two suitcases in the middle of the night. But as it did decades ago, exile still makes him feel restless.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2023
A Russian mathematician finds himself in exile once again
Alexey Sossinsky's family story is a microcosm of Russia's history of upheaval, war and repression going back more than a century.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 7, 2023
Destruction of Kakhovka dam takes Ukraine war into uncharted territory
Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the collapse of the dam, which sent floodwaters gushing toward surrounding towns and farmland and forced hundreds of civilians to flee.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 25, 2023
Russian hypersonic scientist accused of leaking secrets to China
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that his military is the world leader in hypersonic missile technology.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
May 6, 2023
Russia's mercenary boss deepens fog of Ukraine war while deflecting blame
The announcement by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, that his fighters will abandon the city of Bakhmut looks like an exercise in blame avoidance and disinformation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 20, 2023
Putin to welcome Xi to Moscow at critical moment
Xi will be the first world leader to shake Putin's hand since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 22, 2023
Nuclear risk seen rising as Putin 'suspends' last treaty with U.S.
The move raises the risk of a new arms race — in parallel with the war in Ukraine — in which neither side can rely on the stable, predictable framework.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 21, 2022
Russia's 'General Armageddon' under pressure to deliver after retreat
Sergei Surovikin recommended Moscow's forces quit Kherson, and now the Hero of Russia recipient is under pressure on the cusp of winter to show his bet was the right one.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 20, 2022
What Putin wants from Iran and why Tehran might be cautious
A budding courtship between Russia and Iran is an unwelcome development for the West that the United States will watch with concern, but it falls well short of a geopolitical game changer.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 21, 2022
Russia tests nuclear-capable missile that Putin calls world's best
The test of the Sarmat missile, under development for years, did not surprise the West, but comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Apr 13, 2022
Even under shadow of sanctions, Russia can afford to feed its war machine
As the war grinds on, rising casualties and the need to rotate fresh troops into battle may prove more pressing challenges than the financial cost.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Mar 26, 2022
Bogged down in Ukraine, Russia moves war goalposts
Russia has reframed its war goals in Ukraine in a way that may make it easier for President Vladimir Putin to claim a face-saving victory despite his military's woeful campaign.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 25, 2022
Putin launches a war the West saw coming but was powerless to stop
Frantic diplomacy, sanctions threats and unprecedented U.S.-led 'information warfare' weren't enough to prevent what finally unfolded in the early hours of Thursday.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 23, 2022
Putin moves on Donbas but signals deeper designs on Ukraine
The Russian leader has shifted the crisis into a new, more dangerous phase, suggesting his ultimate aims go far deeper than extending Moscow's sway over two struggling separatist regions.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Dec 22, 2021
'No walkover': Ukraine could extract high price for any Russian attack
Analysts say Ukraine's army is better trained and equipped than in 2014, when Russia captured the Crimean Peninsula without a fight, and highly motivated to defend the country's heartland.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 22, 2021
Putin says Russia has 'nowhere to retreat' over Ukraine
Russia is pressing for an urgent U.S. and NATO reply to proposals it made last week for a binding set of security guarantees from the West.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?