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Hello, On 15 February Nicola Sturgeon announced her resignation as First Minister of Scotland. Having known Sturgeon since she became Alex Salmond's "shy but ambitious" deputy at the SNP in 2007, the New Statesman's Scotland editor, Chris Deerin, reflects on the political skills that drove her remarkable rise, and how her fixation on a new independence referendum and gender recognition reform hastened her undoing. Does the SNP's dream of an independent Scotland, he asks, end with Nicola Sturgeon? This spring the Cambridge Literary Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary – for the best part of a decade it has been running in association with the New Statesman. Its bumper programme of in-person and online events from 19 to 23 April includes the NS Debate on the future of the monarchy – featuring Andrew Marr, Gary Younge and others – a live recording of the NS Podcast and a breakfast discussion with our editor-in-chief, Jason Cowley. To book tickets and find out more, visit the CLF website.       Chris Deerin on the rise and fall of Nicola Sturgeon The SNP reached its electoral zenith under the First Minister but she leaves office humbled by Westminster and alienated from the public. Where did it all go wrong?       Ukraine Diary: A year on, Russia's war has failed to break our spirit We started the Kyiv Independent as the horror of war loomed, writes Illia Ponomarenko – and now Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky walk through the heart of the city.       Roald Dahl's books are nasty by nature – editing a word or two won't make them nice Sanitising the writer's legacy may help him remain profitable, writes Anna Leszkiewicz – but his books can't be easily cleaned up.       Letter from Syria: "We called for urgent help. No one responded" After more than a decade of devastation inflicted by civil war, Syrians face a new struggle for survival. The BBC's Middle East correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports.       What the YBAs did next "I didn't want to spend my life angry": Sarah Lucas tells Kate Mossman about feminism, humour and being a Young British Artist at 60.   Update your preferences © New Statesman Media Group 2023 All rights reserved Unsubscribe Unsubscribe