Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma

David Owen served as foreign secretary under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later co-founded and went on to lead the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is the author of books including The Hidden Perspective (2014) and Cabinet's Finest Hour (2016).

ritain's relationship with Russian is surprisingly under-explored. When the two formed a pragmatic alliance and fought together at Navarino in 1827, it was overwhelmingly the work of the British prime minister, George Canning.It was not until the 1917 revolution that another statesman had a defining impact on relations between Britain and Russia: Winston Churchill opposed Bolshevism, yet he never stopped advocating diplomatic and military engagement with Russia.Bringing us into the twenty-first century, Owen chronicles how both countries have responded to their geopolitical decline. Drawing on both imperial and Soviet history, he explains the unique nature of Putin's autocracy and addresses Britain's return to 'blue water' diplomacy. With Owen's characteristic insight and expertise, Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma depicts a relationship governed by principle as often as by suspicion, expediency, and outright neccessity.