In Moscow's Shadows
Dettagli canale
In Moscow's Shadows
Russia, behind the headlines as well as in the shadows. This podcast is the audio counterpart to Mark Galeotti's blog of the same name, a place where "one of the most informed and provocative voices on modern Russia", can talk about Russia historical and (more often) contemporary, discuss new books...
Episodi recenti
240 episodi
In Moscow's Shadows 220: Power Politics in the FSB and a new 'Most Dangerous Man in Russia'?
Time to look at the spooks again. It seems that the FSB's Military Counterintelligence Department (in other words, the anti-coup squad) may be getting...
In Moscow's Shadows 219: Decoding Putin in Valdai
Putin's 4-hour keynote and Q&A at Valdai gives us at least some insight into his thinking and his assumptions, but the interesting thing is that the k...
In Moscow's Shadows 218: Putin, the Blunderer-in-Chief?
We spend a great deal of time thinking about Putin's intentions, his strategy. Yet it's hard to argue that this position, mired in Ukraine, sanctioned...
In Moscow's Shadows 217: MiGs in Estonian skies, exercises on Poland's borders - a threat to Europe?
MiGs in Estonian airspace, military exercises in Belarus, talk of the next war against NATO being prepared. Are we under threat? Well, maybe that’s up...
In Moscow's Shadows 216: What Security Guarantees for Ukraine Might Work?
Zelensky said on Friday that "the basic document on security guarantees for Ukraine, and therefore for the whole of our Europe, is practically ready."...
In Moscow's Shadows 215: A Tale of Two Coups
The 1991 August Coup and the 1993 October Coup are oddities, at once still very current in Russia, yet also veiled in myth and self-deception. Why? I'...
In Moscow's Shadows 214: Law and Lawlessness in Late Putinism (or, Late Brezhnevism redux)
The FSB is trumpeting its arrests of Ukrainian saboteurs and demanding more surveillance powers. Prosecutor General Krasnov is set to become the chair...
In Moscow's Shadows 213: Foreign Agents in Russia, Foreigners in Ukraine...
After a brief comment on the frozen peace process, I look at the case of Sergei Markov, voluble Kremlin loyalist, who has just been declared a Foreign...
In Moscow's Shadows 212: War and Peace and Alaska
Alaska was owned by Russia - was the summit also? Where is the world after the Alaska summit? Putin won, but did Trump really lose (I'd suggest not re...
In Moscow's Shadows 211: Trump, Putin, Alaska...
So Trump and Putin are meeting in Alaska on Friday. Are we on the brink of peace in Ukraine or another mess? I wish I could be more optimistic.
...
In Moscow's Shadows 210: Is Russia Being Sentenced To The Digital Gulag?
With calls for WhatsApp to be banned and searching for 'extremist' material punishable by fines, there is much talk of a 'North Koreanisation' of Russ...
In Moscow's Shadows 209: Eagle, Dragon, Bear - how the Ukraine war drives Moscow into Beijing's orbit
In the first half, I offer a (rather pessimistic) assessment of not just Trump's 50-day ultimatum but also recent EU and UK sanctions, before pivoting...
In Moscow's Shadows 208: 5 Million Downloads and Counting! A Q&A Compilation
In Moscow's Shadows has crossed the 5 million downloads barrier! This happens to coincide with this being an episode in which I tackle Patrons' questi...
In Moscow's Shadows 207: What Is Going On Between Baku and Moscow?
In one corner, Azerbaijan's Ilhan Aliev, in the other, Russia's Vladimir Putin, two autocrats locked in an increasingly acrimonious political conflict...
In Moscow's Shadows 206: Corruption, Putinism's Achilles' Heel
After some thoughts about the recent NATO summit in The Hague, I focus on the perennial challenge of corruption. Even Russian officials are admitting...
In Moscow's Shadows 205: The Peace Crisis that faces Russia after the Ukraine War
There is a range of serious practical problems that an end to the war in Ukraine -- whenever that may be -- will pose for the Kremlin. However, if the...
In Moscow's Shadows 204: The Opportunity and the Threat, Moscow and Iran, Moscow and the West
In the first half, I explore what the eruption of open conflict between Israel and Iran means for Russia. Will Putin be tempted to throw Iran under th...
In Moscow's Shadows 203: Can Putin Afford To End The War?
A pervasive argument is that for reasons personal, political or economic, Putin simply cannot afford to end his war: that he needs the excuse for tyra...
In Moscow's Shadows 202: What Is This Resilience Thing Anyway?
An IMS on a Thursday? Although I'm still not quite yet over the cold that stopped me recording on Sunday, as I can't record next Sunday, needs must......
In Moscow's Shadows 201: Peacetalkers and Warfighters
Negotiations (of a sort) in Istanbul: a real engagement or just a piece of theatre? The answer, of course, is a bit of both.
And what can one re...
In Moscow's Shadows 200: Victory Day (whose?)
The 200th episode! Hard to believe.
After briefly assessing Putin's late-night offer of talks with Kyiv, I dig into the Victory Day parade and w...
In Moscow's Shadows 199: the General in GenPop
General Ivan Popov, once hailed as one of the heroes and rising stars of the Russian army, has just been sentenced to 5 years in a general regime pena...
In Moscow's Shadows 198: War (in Russia's underworld) and Peace (in Ukraine)?
In the first half, I consider the latest twists in the saga of the US-pushed 'ceasefire' plan. Has Trump has an epiphany in the Vatican, or will Kyiv...
In Moscow's Shadows 197: Russia's future fascist turn?
An intemperate recent interview from Foreign Minister Lavrov, at which he warned that 'fifth columnists' within the elite wanted to hand Russia to the...
In Moscow's Shadows 196: Space, the Failing Frontier
In the first half, I look at developments regarding Ukraine (I'm getting more sceptical about Putin's interest in a deal) and profile former FSB gener...
In Moscow's Shadows 195: Q&A, Part 2
A bonus second batch of questions, relating to war, peace and my attitudes to social media!
The CASE survey of emigre attitudes is here.
T...
In Moscow's Shadows 194: Q&A, Part 1
Comrades!
Forgive the tedious title, but this episode is the first of two answering questions set by my esteemed Patrons, covering Russian dome...
In Moscow's Shadows 193: Mishustin's Annual Report: what he says, what he doesn't
One, I suspect, more for the wonks. I dig into Prime Minister Mishustin's lengthy and not-so-exciting annual report to parliament, and the responses f...
In Moscow's Shadows 192: What if Ukraine could join the EU in months, not years?
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has suggested Ukraine should be allowed into the EU on 1 January 2030 (by which time the war will be over or froz...
In Moscow's Shadows 191: How is Russian Foreign Policy Made?
What shapes Russian foreign policy? I start by looking at the core issue of the moment, Moscow's thinking over the proposed ceasefire, then consider m...
In Moscow's Shadows 190: Sanctions, Spies, and Suspect Legitimacy
Reflecting the chaotic and fast-moving nature of the times, another podcast of two parts. In the first, looking at various issues of the week, from Tr...
In Moscow's Shadows 189: Oval Office Mugging and Russia's Police in Crisis
Much as I would love not to have to keep talking about Trump, it's inevitable that I cover the extraordinary events of this week: Trump as King Lear,...
In Moscow's Shadows 188: War and Peace and Trump
In a more-freeform-than usual episode, I consider the aftermath of the Munich Security Conference, why Trump is such a Putin fanboy (more about being...
In Moscow's Shadows 187: Tatarstan
As Russia-watchers, we know that Russia is not just Russian, or Russian Orthodox, but there is also a glib assumption that to be Muslim or otherwise a...
In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: Ukrainskii Sindrom
Originally one of the 'Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas' bonuses for Patrons, in this short pod I explore whether, when the soldiers come home, Russia...
In Moscow's Shadows 186: Why is Putin's Russia so Prone to Conspiracy Theories?
The Russian response to Tucker Carlson's claim that the Biden administration tried to assassinate Putin has to a large extent been driven by political...
In Moscow's Shadows 185: The One With All The Stuff
How else, frankly, to title an episode which covers Trump and Putin, the CIA's Ukrainian cooperation, Russo-Iranian and -Indian relations, Belarus, an...
In Moscow's Shadows 184: One Hundred Years of Companionship?
The UK has signed a 'One Hundred Years Partnership Agreement' with Ukraine -- what's really involved under this grandiose title, and what does it show...
In Moscow's Shadows 183: War and Peace (and Public Opinion)
We pundits have done more than our fair share speculating on whether, how, when and with what consequences there could be peace or a ceasefire in Ukra...
In Moscow's Shadows 182: Things To Watch in 2025
Outright prediction may be a mug's game, but what are some of the people and processes I will be watching in 2025?
For those who get lost...