Irish Examiner view: The unfinished business of 1945

The death of Alexei Navalny, 47, who was of Russian and Ukrainian descent, in the Siberian prison where he was serving a 20-year sentence, is another dark episode in the government of Vladimir Putin. Pavel Golovkin/AP

As news emerges from Siberia of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and progress in Gaza continues to be stymied, it is time again to consider whether there are any prospects for hope while Russia and Israel continue to be dominated by their respective leaders.

And the conclusion to that question must be “no.” And it has serious implications for Western democracies, the EU, and Nato in both the short and medium term.