Peter Hitchens Opens a Political Can of Worms on Russia

Jun 7, 2022 | News

By: Alec Bennetts

As the soul-wrenching horror of 20th century world wars fade from the living memory of our societies, we must remind ourselves regularly of the awful reality of warfare, says renowned writer and thinker Peter Hitchens.

In a recent interview with former Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, filmed near Hitchens’ home in Oxford, Peter’s lifelong knack for contrarianism and lateral thinking was on full display.

He chides Western nations for displaying a ‘lack of true principles’ in relation to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, accusing them of hypocrisy by moralising about Russian actions while downplaying the plethora of humanitarian abuses committed by themselves and other nations such as China, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Peter Hitchens is a British journalist, author, and broadcaster. He currently writes for the Mail on Sunday, where he is a columnist and occasional foreign correspondent. He regularly engages with a great many topics in public debate on major television & radio networks and at universities around the world.

“Peter questions whether Western governments and media have fully appreciated the geopolitical context of the Russian invasion, opening a can of worms…”

A former Trotskyist, Peter partly attributes his return to Christian faith to his experience of communism in practice, which he witnessed during his years reporting in Eastern Europe and later from Moscow during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the interview, Peter questions whether Western governments and media have fully appreciated the geopolitical context of the Russian invasion, opening a can of worms as only he can.


John Anderson served as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1999 to 2005. A committed Christian, John now hosts a podcast where he interviews various thought leaders from around the world on topics as varied as politics, culture, academia and faith.


Article supplied with thanks to JohnAnderson.net.au.

About the Author: Alec is a writer working for John Anderson and his ‘Conversations’ series, and the ‘John Anderson Direct’ podcast.

Feature image: Screenshots, Supplied.