I’m not alone in thinking I may have the best job at The Economist. Running By Invitation, our guest-essays section, is certainly one of the most varied. Among our authors this year have been Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding president, Europe’s “Anti-Trump” (aka Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez), two Nobel laureates, and a founder of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. These contributors are, mostly, a delight to deal with (no clues as to which of the above called one of my questions about their copy “moronic”).

Names, names, names. And then there was the author with no name: the “former senior official in the Russian government” who penned a stinging take on Vladimir Putin’s Russia—our most popular op-ed of 2026 so far. Readers are understandably hungry for informed glimpses into a strategically important regime that keeps a tight lid on information. Anonymity is rare on By Invitation: this was the first such piece since I took over more than three years ago. But sometimes it’s necessary. Mr Putin is not one to invite his domestic critics over to the Kremlin for a cup of tea—unless, perhaps, it’s laced with polonium.