Putin’s Russia still as baffling as ever

KREMLINOLOGY was the well-respected skill of divining what was happening inside the secretive world of Moscow rule during the cold war.

It never really went away, and any country — or enterprise — trying to do business with Russia finds it difficult and frustrating and is never sure where they stand.

But it has become worse, and the debacle with Ukraine has forced the EU to try to tackle it head-on and attempt to agree basic principles with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.