The sudden and startling death of one of Vladimir Putin’s opponents is hardly a new trope. In the case of Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of a failed rebellion against the Russian president in June – who died in a suspicious-looking plane crash last Wednesday, along with nine others – the main question was: what took Putin so long? Andrew Roth explores what the legacy of the Wagner warlord might be for Russia – which may well hinge on Putin himself and how the war in Ukraine turns out.
Pjotr Sauer looks at the array of methods used to dispose of Putin’s political enemies in the past, while Dino Mahtani asks what will happen to Wagner group’s clandestine operations in Africa now its enigmatic boss is no longer in the picture.
In Spotlight, a beautiful photo-essay by Ossie Michelin and Eldred Allen transports us to the Canadian Arctic where, amid alarming signs of warmer winters and receding ice, Inuit people are planning to turn 15,000 sq km of the Labrador Sea into a unique conservation zone.
Last week’s Guardian Weekly cover on the rise of women’s football conveyed the sheer joy of Spain’s World Cup triumph. But the achievement was completely overshadowed by the refusal of Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish football federation, to resign or even apologise for kissing the Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the final medal ceremony. Ashifa Kassam in Madrid reports on what has become a #MeToo moment for women in Spain.
India’s moon landing last week was a moment to savour for the country, and not just because it came days after a botched attempt by the Russians. Science editor Ian Sample explains why the landing, near the moon’s south pole, could be another giant leap for space exploration.
Also this week, don’t miss Stephen Walker’s fantastic feature about the awkwardness of life on the International Space Station since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The novelist Zadie Smith is known for her dislike of giving interviews. But, as her historical novel, The Fraud, hits the bookshelves, she talks to Lisa Allardice about why she and her family have returned to her old literary stomping ground of north London after 17 years overseas.
