As the war in Ukraine drags on, some analysts believe the Kremlin is holding out for more gains on the battlefield. But beneath the surface, a darker force may be shaping Russia’s strategy — organised crime. Criminologist Federico Varese, an expert on Russia’s criminal underworld, says the chaos of war has reawakened powerful networks that could be influencing Kremlin decisions. A Professor at Sciences Po in Paris and senior research fellow at Nuffield College in Oxford, his latest book, Russia