Gideon Rachman, the Financial Times chief foreign affairs commentator, gave a lucid analysis of Russia’s latest power play, arguing that talk of a new cold war is misleading.

Gideon explains that because the modern world isn’t divided into clear-cut political and economic systems, a “new east-west struggle is certainly under way today but it is being fought on entirely different terrain from the cold war – and under different rules.”

This became clear when shares in the Russian market collapsed by 10% over the weekend, in response to the news that Russian troops had taken effective control of Crimea. Gideon points out that the financial, business and social systems of Russia and the West are deeply intertwined, and that the context for when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in 1986 doesn’t apply here. Indeed, “[for] the past decade, Mr Putin and his entourage have often used the rhetoric of the cold war while enjoying the fruits of globalisation.”

Gideon argues that Putin needs to make a choice. Click here to see his options.

To find out more about Gideon Rachman, or to book him as a speaker or moderator for your conference or event, please contact Leo von Bülow-Quirk at [email protected] or call 0044 (0) 20 7792 8000.