Jon Richardson
Jon Richardson is a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies. He is a formerdiplomat who covered Eastern Europe from Moscow (in the USSR and later Russia), Belgrade, London and Canberra. He also served as High Commissioner to Nigeria and Ghana.
Recent articles by Jon Richardson
7 November 2024
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: provoked by NATO, or Russian imperialism?
One zombie thesis about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that keeps resurfacing is the idea that it was provoked by NATO expansion. It doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
3 July 2024
Ukraine: where are the real fascists?
One myth that keeps cropping up about Ukraine is that it has been plagued by outsized far right or neo-Nazi influences, particularly during the Maidan protests of 2014 and the later Donbas conflict.
3 May 2024
Myths about Ukraine: no.#1 - Crimea rightfully belongs to Russia
Russian claims to Crimea based on historical ownership, language or the illegitimacy of past decisions are weak. They provide no justification for its invasion and annexation or continued possession of Crimea.
2 August 2023
A twentieth century Terra Nullius: Crimea, Canards and Confabulations
A reading of history, including the genocide and forced exile of the indigenous Crimean Tatars, debunks apologias for the Russian annexation of Crimea based on the support of the local Russian majority.
18 July 2023
Ukraine: Putins war or proxy war?
The claim that Russias invasion of Ukraine is a proxy war is not borne out by recent history, nor supported by Russian democrats, Ukrainians of all stripes nor most Western Russia specialists. They mostly see its roots in an authoritarian Russian state and the revanchist views of Putin and his acolytes.