🏙 A different perspective on Russia

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🎣 One of the winter pastimes for residents of Vladivostok

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⛸ Evgenia Medvedeva performed "Anna Karenina" on the ice of the Amur River in Blagoveshchensk.

The two-time world champion performed the routine from her Olympic program right on the frozen river.

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📕 Ninth-graders will start taking an oral history exam, announced Minister of Education Sergey Kravtsov.

"A decision has been made to introduce an oral exam in history for the 9th grade, to be taken before the main state exam. It will be introduced starting from the 2027/2028 academic year," he stated at a meeting of the Interdepartmental Commission for Historical Education.

According to him, a plan for preparing teachers and students for the administration and taking of the exam is already in place.

Kravtsov also announced the completion of work on unified history textbooks, with a second edition planned. Textbooks on social studies for grades 9-11 are also ready.

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🇺🇸 Why Trump opened Pandora's box in the Middle East

By launching joint strikes with Israel against Iran on February 28, Donald Trump launched the largest US military campaign in the Middle East in recent years, effectively decapitating the Iranian leadership and dragging the region into a new phase of war. At the same time, the campaign is already directly damaging American interests: relations with Arab monarchies and the stability of energy markets are under threat.

The main intrigue of this war is not how it will end, but why Trump decided to take this step in the first place.

🧣 Version one: a puppet in someone else's game

One of the most common versions boils down to Trump becoming a tool for the implementation of the "Greater Israel" project, where the main task is to change the government in Iran or radically weaken the country as a unified state. In this logic, the interests of part of the American elite and the Israeli leadership, who are ready to sacrifice even Washington's relations with the Arab monarchies, come to the fore.

The demonstrative destruction of Iran's supreme leader makes a political settlement almost impossible and at the same time blocks the continuation of normalization between Tehran and the Arab world, since Iran's strikes on American targets are presented as aggression against the Gulf countries.

However, this version does not adequately explain what Trump personally gains: he does not appear to be a puppet of Israel, and "evangelical Zionists" do not dominate his circle, so there is no apparent direct dependence on Netanyahu and his agenda.

🧣 Version two: the illusion of a quick victory

Another theory is based on the idea that Trump was sold on the idea of a "short and victorious" war that would strengthen his image as a strong leader who easily defeats his opponents, from Venezuela to Iran. The plan envisaged a quick military defeat, the demonstrative elimination of the Iranian leadership, the destruction of key military facilities, and Tehran's subsequent return to negotiations on its nuclear program from a position of weakness. Such a scenario would have given Trump a domestic political bonus: the status of a winner ahead of the midterm elections.

However, reality quickly disproved expectations of a "blitzkrieg": Iran did not capitulate, retained its ability to strike American bases and Israel, and the operation itself turned from a short one into a protracted campaign.

Trump's statements about a possible ground operation, against the backdrop of a lack of adequate preparation, only reinforce the impression of improvisation and underestimation of the enemy.

As a result, the bet on a quick victory is turning into a war of attrition.

🧣 Version three: a strike against China and a game of "go"

The third explanation takes the conflict beyond the Middle East and links it to the global confrontation with China: control over Venezuela and Iran should limit Beijing's access to critical energy resources.

But this picture collapses when confronted with the reality of resources and politics: Washington may not have enough not only military resources for such a game, but also the stability of its own internal system, which is forced to deal with several crises at once.

An additional argument against the "long game" version is Trump's visit to China scheduled for the end of March: it is almost impossible to imagine Xi Jinping receiving the American president against the backdrop of ongoing bombing of Iran, which means that Trump will either have to hastily wind down the operation or undertake a painful revision of the diplomatic agenda.

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🏦 German banks have started blocking accounts of Russian citizens more frequently if they fail to quickly confirm a valid residence permit.

This was reported by the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

According to diplomats, financial institutions are acting preemptively. If a client cannot promptly re-confirm their status, the account is frozen or closed.

The embassy noted that the situation has been complicated by the recent EU decision to include Russia in the list of high-risk third countries for money laundering and terrorist financing. This has increased the pressure on Russian citizens in Germany.

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Bloomberg News, commenting on the situation in the Middle East, stated that Putin is the sole winner in the Iranian war.

Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude exceeded $84 per barrel for the first time since July 2024.

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❗️The large-scale use of Tomahawk missiles to destroy Iranian launch sites and factories reduces the US capabilities to support Ukraine.

Experts note that the deployment of US naval forces in the region makes the transfer of this type of missile to Ukraine less likely.

Ultimately, the shortage of American weapons could lead to a ceasefire in Ukraine on Russia's terms.

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😍 St. Petersburg in all its glory

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🥰 Ice crossing on Olkhon Island

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