MI5 director general Andrew Parker told the Guardian that Russia poses a threat to the stability of the UK. Meanwhile, tensions between the Russia and the US are “at their highest since the pre-Gorbachev period”, according to Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the journal, Russia in Global Affairs.
Lukyanov, writing in the latest edition of the Daily Telegraph’s supplement, Russia Beyond The Headlines, argues that it is “understandable” that the situation has deteriorated because President Barack Obama “does not think it necessary to build relations”.
He accuses Obama of a “love of external effects and striking statements with little substance behind them”. Unsurprisingly, he offers no view on President Vladimir Putin’s relationship-building skills.
But help may be at hand. In a separate article, Alexander Bratersky finds reasons to be cheerful in the possibility of Donald Trump entering the White House.
In a piece headlined “So who would Russians vote for?” he believes the Republican candidate as a better bet than Hillary Clinton to mend diplomatic fences.
He quotes some eminent authorities to prove his point, such as Russian pop singer Philipp Kirkorov (no, neither have I).
He was quoted by the BBC in September as saying: “If Donald Trump becomes president, relations between our two countries will become better”.
Bratersky sees virtues in Trump’s flamboyant, anti-establishment approach and writes: “The fact that Russian state TV has often given Mr Trump favourable coverage, while ridiculing Mrs Clinton, has also contributed to his popularity in Russia”.
But all is not lost should there be a Clinton victory:
There is a possibility that her husband, Bill, might be able to smooth relations between Mrs Clinton and Mr Putin...
When Bill Clinton visited Russia in 2010, Mr Putin used the Russian form of familiar address ty rather than rather than the __more formal vy when in conversation with Mr Clinton.
It is known that Mr Putin uses this form only to address foreign leaders with whom he is on good terms.
And then comes another revelation, courtesy of Mrs Clinton’s emails: Hillary and Vladimir both like polar bears and tigers. Trump that, Donald!