Dictatorships may not be lumbering behemoths, but William J Dobson overstates the extent to which authoritarians have changed their ways

The thorn in the side of Russia's kleptocrats stands accused of nonsensical criminal charges that amount to nothing more than the bullying of a mafia state

Politicians and bureaucrats at the IOC have made a mockery of the Olympic ideal. The Games-as-state-propaganda machine makes Soviets of us all

The darling of the liberal intelligentsia and Nobel laureate’s plan to end the economic depression would only prolong it

For too long the Proms showcased foreign music. Now, under Roger Wright, it is well and truly a Great British festival

Bordeaux was more than a drink for Baudelaire. It served as a potion which could multiply individuality

In 1962 Bobby Fisher claimed "the Russians have fixed world chess". He was certainly paranoid but was proved to be partially right

The improbable Swedish finance minister's spending and tax cuts have resulted in fiscal stability and economic growth

Two books, by Sarah Fraser and Victoria Schofield, provide an invaluable and accessible insight into Scottish military history

Samuel Brittan's diaries from 1964-66 prove that, even then, the doyen of financial journalism was insightful and, at times, cutting