Russians know what is going on
£25 STAR LETTER
I read your story about the independent media being shut in Moscow and how Russians are being fed lies by the Kremlin.
I bet they are but, after all these years, Russians have become skilled at believing what they want to believe and saying what they need to say to stay out of prison camps. I suspect most Russians have a very good idea of what is happening in Kyiv and either agree with it or are happy to ignore it.
If the West is really pinning our hopes on a popular uprising against Putin, we might be waiting a long time.
Jennifer Ross, Edinburgh
Seize, sell or sink
We shouldn’t just be seizing the superyachts of the oligarchs. We should sell them. Or sink them. If we had done it years ago, they might have reined Putin in.
D Shields, Airdrie
A sorry spectacle
I was surprised the witches of Scotland were not happier about the first minister using International Women’s Day to apologise to them but then I remembered they’ve all been dead for 300 years.
Politicians like nothing more than apologising for something that isn’t their fault but try getting them to say sorry for something that actually happened in the here and now, on their watch, and it’s like pulling teeth.
I don’t remember Nicola Sturgeon apologising, for example, about sending positive Covid patients into care homes. We got some mealy-mouthed acknowledgement that mistakes were made but a frank admission of what happened and an apology? No chance. Maybe the families will get one in 300 years, although the pace of Scotland’s public inquiries means it could be longer.
M Macdonald, by email
Biscuits for hire
I’m afraid I had never heard of Sir Herbert Maxwell until I read your story about him. What an incredible man. An author, painter, historian, MP. He seems to have been one of those lucky people who spent his life pursuing the things he loved, whether gardens or fishing.
My mum always told me to find a hobby and turn it into a job. It sounds like good advice but easier said than done. If anyone wants to hire me to eat biscuits and read
The Sunday Post, my rates are very reasonable.
Margaret Bright, North Berwick Well done, Nicola
I agree with Judy Murray and think Nicola Benedetti is an ideal person to be director of the Edinburgh International Festival. She seems a very pleasant, intelligent young woman and her talent and passion for music and encouraging young musicians is admirable. Like Judy, I was also surprised she is the first woman to have the job. I hope she won’t be the last.
Sylvia Glass, Dundee
Offensive tweets
Are the birds getting louder? They woke me up at five o’clock today and it was bedlam. I couldn’t get back to sleep for the uproar. Thomas Mcnair, by email