In Moscow's Shadows
164 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago -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 and research, and sometimes talk to other Russia-watchers.
If you'd like to keep the podcast coming and generally support my work, or want to ask questions or suggest topics for me to cover, do please contribute to my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/InMoscowsShadows
The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.
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Episodes
In Moscow's Shadows 144: Of Talks and Thugs
April 21, 2024 08:00 - 1 hour - 46.2 MBIn the first part, I talk about some of the issues raised by a recent article in Foreign Affairs by Sam Charap and Sergei Radchenko for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia whenever they actually happen. In the second I dig into the rise and challenges of Viktor Zolotov, head of the National Guard. The Foreign Affairs article I mention is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfa...
In Moscow's Shadows 143: Of MICE and Man
April 14, 2024 08:00 - 58 minutes - 40.4 MBWhy are some individuals, parties, even countries still so willing to believe (or at least affect to believe) Putin's nonsense? As a way of trying to explain it, I turn to the intelligence recruitment acronym MICE: Money, Ideology, Compromise and Ego. In the second half, I look at another potential up-and-comer, Yuri Trutnev, deputy PM and presidential representative of the Far East, and wonder if he might have a non-standard political trajectory in mind. The podcast's corporate partner an...
In Moscow's Shadows 142: Heresies and Revolutions
April 07, 2024 09:00 - 53 minutes - 36.7 MBIs Putin's Russia becoming a revolutionary state? A recent article on RT by Dmitry Trenin, once one of the doyens of Russian foreign policy analysis, suggests so, but perhaps doesn't go far enough. I consider Trenin's piece in conjunction with others by Fedor Lukyanov and one Henry Johnston, to wonder whether Putin, in so many ways the arch conservative, is being forced to reinvent himself as a revolutionary under pressure of events since his invasion of Ukraine. PS: I did say it wasn't bey...
In Moscow's Shadows 141: Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll (kinda)
March 31, 2024 10:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBAfter a sham election and a ghastly terrorist attack (and a pretty ghastly official response), time to talk about something else: sex, drugs and rock & roll. Well, demography, access to pharmaceuticals, and the state's culture war in music, film and beyond - but that's almost the same, isn't it? The Shaman video I mentioned is here, while if you want to see the trailer for Turist, it's here. For a more wholesome watch, the trailer for Cheburashka is here. The podcast's corporate partner ...
In Moscow's Shadows 140: Terrorism and Totalitarianism
March 24, 2024 10:00 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MBWhat a week it has been. I give my initial thoughts on the awful terrorist attack on the outskirts of Moscow, and then pivot to some further lessons of the sham presidential elections. It's all joy, all the time, here at In Moscow's Shadows... There are further details of Vienna event at the Kreisky Forum on 8 April here, and on the Newcastle University public lecture on 16 May here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immers...
In Moscow's Shadows 140: Terror and Totalitarianism
March 24, 2024 10:00 - 52 minutes - 36.4 MBWhat a week it has been. I give my initial thoughts on the awful terrorist attack on the outskirts of Moscow, and then pivot to some further lessons of the sham presidential elections. It's all joy, all the time, here at In Moscow's Shadows... There are further details of Vienna event at the Kreisky Forum on 8 April here, and on the Newcastle University public lecture on 16 May here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immers...
In Moscow's Shadows 139: Why Even Sham Elections Can Matter
March 17, 2024 10:00 - 55 minutes - 37.9 MBRussia's presidential elections are coming to a close, and while Putin's landslide victory is a foregone conclusion in light of the manipulation of the process (I write about that here), that doesn't mean these elections don't matter. I discuss the things I'll be looking for, ranging from how the votes are allocated, through the potential for a cabinet reshuffle, to how this fits into wider political processes, from the cultivation of a new loyalist elite to the risk of a further mobilisatio...
In Moscow's Shadows 138: Gangster Geopolitics
March 09, 2024 08:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MBAre we failing properly to consider the danger as the Kremlin turns to Russian-based organised crime groups abroad to make up for the expulsion of so many of its spies abroad and the constraints of the sanctions regime? I think so -- and here I explain why. The ECFR Crimintern report I mention is here, and Rebellion as Racket, for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innova...
In Moscow's Shadows 137: They Pretend To Lead Us, We Pretend To Believe
March 02, 2024 15:00 - 50 minutes - 34.6 MBAn episode, I admit, on the nerdier end of the spectrum, as I dig into Putin's latest State of the Union, both for the detail and also for three big take-aways: that this was a stealth stump speech, that it left unanswered how (or if) the ambitious 6-year plan would be funded, and that it marks a new stage in Putin's Sovietisation. My earlier video on the speech is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis ex...
In Moscow's Shadows 136: Avenging Navalny
February 25, 2024 09:00 - 41 minutes - 28.8 MBAvenging may not be quite the right word, but what can the West do to punish the Kremlin for Navalny's death and furthering his cause in ways worthy of him? I set out some practical proposals. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations. You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patr...
In Moscow's Shadows 135: Navalny in the late Soviet Union
February 18, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 42.1 MBWell, not really, but how Navalny's awful death helps illustrate how late Putinism in its 'banana republic' phase comes to resemble the later Soviet era -- and what this may mean for its future. My video on Navalny is here and Sunday Times article is here. The Moskovsky Komsomolets article I cite is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and si...
In Moscow's Shadows 134: Kaliningrad still at the Crossroads
February 11, 2024 10:00 - 54 minutes - 37.6 MBIs the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad a dangerous Russian bastion threatening the West, a point of vulnerability for Moscow, or a potential point of reconnection with Europe? How about a mix of all three -- and also an example of how even figures from a new 'Putin generation' politician can be technocrats rather than zealots. In the second half, a brief rumination about how simulation exercises like Conducttr's recent Kaliningrad Crucible can help if not prediction, at least analysis. The...
In Moscow's Shadows 133: Books on Russia, Books on Ukraine
February 04, 2024 09:00 - 50 minutes - 34.5 MBAs I'm travelling this weekend, this episode is a compilation of two sets of comparative book reviews already provided to my Patrons. First up, three recent books on Russia that, together, would make up one pretty fine, balanced and comprehensive one... Thomas Graham, Getting Russia Right (Polity) Richard Sakwa, The Lost Peace (Yale) Leon Aron, Riding the Tiger (AEI) In the second half, three more books, this time all about Ukraine: Maria Popova & Oxana Shevel, Russia and Ukraine. Enta...
In Moscow's Shadows 132: A View from the Provinces
January 28, 2024 11:00 - 48 minutes - 33.7 MBBarring particularly high-profile developments, we tend to look at Russia through the prism of Moscow (and maybe St Petersburg). How good a picture does this give us? To try and redress the balance, I use a recent Association D'Est report on 'Grassroots Propaganda and Repression in Russia's Komi Republic' to consider some of the wider lessons about protest and resistance in the provinces... The D'Est webage is here, and you can learn more about the Bear Market brief here (substack) and here...
In Moscow's Shadows 131: European Strategy and Vorobyov's Prospects
January 21, 2024 11:00 - 1 hour - 47.4 MBA podcast of two halves. First of all, I look at the dilemmas and limitations facing European (EU and UK) strategy over Ukraine. Why is it so hard? After the break, I consider another of the younger officials sometimes listed as an up-and-comer: Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov. Why do I not really rate him? The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affair...
In Moscow's Shadows 130: Questions I Can't Answer
January 14, 2024 10:00 - 45 minutes - 31.5 MBThe essence of podcasting and punditry may be to peddle confident certainties, but often we don’t really know. So today I raise some important questions to which I really don’t know the answer, but which, alas, matter. When will Russians' patience run out? What will the next 'black swan' disruptor be? Would a ceasefire in 2024 benefit Ukraine more than Russia? The Foreign Affairs article by Emma Ashford and Kelly A. Grieco I cite is here. The KCL event I mention is here, the programme of t...
In Moscow's Shadows 129: It's All About Putin's Eggs
January 07, 2024 10:00 - 39 minutes - 27.3 MBRussia is still gripped by an egg crisis, after prices rose 46% last year. Now the security apparatus is investigating hoarding and profiteering, the Agriculture Ministry is talking price controls and Lukashenko is having some fun at Putin's expense. At the risk of sounding glib, in this podcast I explain why the crisis explains everything you need to know about Putin's Russia... The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive c...
In Moscow's Shadows 128: Politics, War and Lunacy - a look forward to 2024
December 29, 2023 09:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBLess whimsical than the last one, the final episode of 2023 looks ahead to the coming year: the candidates for the presidential elections, the prospects for the war, and - spinning off a deeply-bizarre interview with hawkish academic Sergei Karaganov - whether the Kremlin can find a convincing narrative. The Karaganov interview is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter...
In Moscow's Shadows 127: When Napoleon was Nuked and Other Russian Conspiracy Theories
December 23, 2023 08:00 - 55 minutes - 38.2 MBWas Moscow nuked in 1812? Have a thousand years of history been made up to conceal the power of the 'Russian Horde'? Was Lenin a mushroom? Are reptiloids trying to subvert Russia with Satanism? Of course not: but these -- and many, many more -- conspiracy theories and mobilised falsehoods remain deeply and depressingly prevalent in Russia, and even in a way shape policy. Why? Join me in a meandering exploration of the wild and wacky world of Russian conspiracy theory/ The podcast's corporat...
In Moscow's Shadows 126: Truth and Tedium in Putin's Marathon Town Hall and the Russian Press
December 17, 2023 10:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBI felt I ought to cover Putin's combined press conference and online town hall, but it was just so, so boring. And maybe that's the point: tedium weaponised as the new electoral strategy. But what else can we read into the Kremlin's public messaging? To explore that, after some brief thoughts on that 4 hour 4 minute banquet of banality, I delve into the world of Russian tabloids this weekend... Details of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime event on Monday that I men...
In Moscow's Shadows 125: Putin's Coming Back! And So's the Cold War?
December 10, 2023 10:00 - 49 minutes - 34.2 MBSo, surprise, surprise, Putin's standing for re-election. A few thoughts on how it was announced and the vibe around it, before I look at 'Preventing the Next War,' a report from DGAP, the German Council on Foreign Relations, that believes Russia could rearm within 6 years of the end of the war, and that if NATO has not already armed itself to match by then, it would invade. I'm not convinced -- but think it is crucial to have the debate. The DGAP report is here. The podcast's corporate pa...
In Moscow's Shadows 124: Putin's Performative Politics
December 03, 2023 10:00 - 53 minutes - 36.9 MBThere's a myth that authoritarian leaders don't have to worry about public politics: arguably they have to worry all the more. Spinning off from the recent bizarre criminalisation of the mythical 'international LGBT movement' and one or more raids on gay clubs, I unpack how I think Putin's political 'offer' to Russians will emerge over the months leading up to presidential elections: social conservatism, a warfighting nation rather than a nation at war, a scapegoated country, but also a 'nor...
In Moscow's Shadows 123: Russia's 'Red-Brown' Leftists, and How I Became A Voice of the West
November 19, 2023 18:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBHas hell frozen over? Left Front leading light Leonid Razvozzhaev is backing the inclusion of ultra-nationalist Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin in unofficial 'people's primaries' for presidential opposition candidates. How is the Russian left different from the West's, and why does this make 'red-brown' alliances with the nationalists more plausible and worrying? And after the break, how some of my writings have been interpreted of some kind of signal of Western willingness to make a deal over Ukrai...
In Moscow's Shadows 122: Taking on Conventional Wisdom About Putin
November 12, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBAfter looking at a few recent news stories that caught my eye, on everything from the Ministry of Happiness to a surprisingly subversive economic plan, I look at four conventional wisdoms about Putin. He knows what he wants and it never changes. He doesn't have to care about public opinion. He needs the war to go on for ever. He can't be negotiated with. It's not, in my opinion, that they are all outright wrong, but two of them are, and two need more nuance. Without understanding that, we co...
In Moscow's Shadows 121: Making Sense of Makhachkala
November 04, 2023 17:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBWhat can we learn from the ugly anti-Semitic riot at Makhachkala airport? Officially sanctioned, foreign-inspired subversion, a symptom of state failure or societal anti-Semitism? I don't think any of these capture the significance of the incident, but instead it highlights some fundamental challenges for Moscow, and reasons why the North Caucasus is almost uniquely problematic for the regime. The Moscow Times article by Almut Rochowanski that I mention is here. The podcast's corporate par...
In Moscow's Shadows 120: Putin is Dead! (well, probably not)
October 29, 2023 09:00 - 43 minutes - 30 MBIn what sounds more like a scene from Armando Ianucci's Death of Stalin, an anonymous Telegram channel tells us Putin is dead, his body stuffed into deep freeze while Patrushev takes over. Credible? Not really, but that doesn't stop many Western media outlets running with the story. So, why this fascination with Putin's health, why does it matter, and what do I think would happen, if Putin really did die in office? As a natural follow on, in the second part, I look at PM Mikhail Mishustin's...
In Moscow's Shadows 119: Manifestos to the Left of me, Manifestos to the Right
October 22, 2023 11:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBAlexei Navalny has posted a list of 10 questions he thinks all movers and shakers in the Russian (opposition) political scene ought to be asked ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. His questions, and his list of those whom he thinks should answer them, and an interesting bid to remain politically relevant - but also tell us something about his thinking. On the other end of the political spectrum, uber-hawk Nikolai Patrushev has written an article (available in Russia and a PDF here) wh...
In Moscow's Shadows 118: Clueless in Gaza - Russia and the current Middle East crisis
October 14, 2023 08:00 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MBA quick and early episode looking at what roles and goals - if any - Russia has in the current Hamas-Israel war. The bottom line is that Russia was not behind the terrorist invasion, doesn't really know how to respond, is putting out different and even contradictory messages and yet will taken whatever advantage from it that it can. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terro...
In Moscow's Shadows 117: Security Politics and the President Who Can't Change His Spots
October 08, 2023 07:00 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBThe Russian police are increasingly under pressure. The National Guard is getting into the mercenary game. There is talk (probably empty) of Wagner being reconstituted under Evgeny Prigozhin's son Pavel. These three apparently separate developments all point to the way Putin is not learning the lessons of past mistakes. In the second segment, another profile of a potential successor to Putin: the fixer-technocrat with the 'Cheshire Cat' smile, Dmitri Kozak. The podcast's corporate partner ...
In Moscow's Shadows 116: Putin's "Forever War" (which isn't)
October 01, 2023 16:00 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBThe easy cliche that the Ukraine conflict may become a 'forever war' is a convenient notion for Putin - it may help dismay his enemies, and provides an organising principle for 'late Putinism.' To paraphrase the SF game Warhammer 40,000, in the grim darkness of the present, there is only war. Yet, of course, no war last forever and, in particular, Russians themselves don't seem to be buying this notion. Even government pollsters suggest only a small minority are really enthused by the war -...
In Moscow's Shadows 115: Kadyrov and the Conflict Entrepreneurs
September 24, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBIs Kadyrov dying? If so, who might replace him - and what may this mean for Russia. If Chechnya again becomes unstable, will Putin be faced with a choice of losing in Ukraine or in Chechnya? In any case, Kadyrov was one of the first and most successful of Russia's 'conflict entrepreneurs,' able to monetise the threat or actuality of war. The invasion of Ukraine is creating a whole slew of new conflict entrepreneurs, who will represent not just a constituency with an interest in continued c...
In Moscow's Shadows 114: Six of the Best (?)
September 10, 2023 09:00 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBAs a way of getting away from the perennial talk of Wagner and the Ukrainian counter-offensive, I look at current stories relating to six individuals - Dmitri Medvedev, Anton Siluanov, Sergei Surovikin, Sergei Sobyanin, Valentin Konovalov and Sergei Aksenov - and what they tell us about today's Russia, Nepotism, statism, warlordism, and the limits of Kremlin power... The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercis...
In Moscow's Shadows 113: And Goodnight Wagner?
September 03, 2023 08:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MBAfter looking at Prigozhin last time, this episode I focus on Wagner. Will it survive in Africa (I suspect not), what this may mean for Russia's Africa non-quite-a-strategy, and will we see a 'Wagnerisation' of the Russian military (probably) and society (hopefully not). And why Wagner was like one of the great global football teams... The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-te...
In Moscow's Shadows 112: Goodbye Prigozhin
August 27, 2023 09:00 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBWhat can we say about the death of Prigozhin (beyond good riddance?). At the risk of overstating the case, I feel this is a watershed moment, and Putin's willingness to turn on his own, at the expense of his own promises, is both symptomatic of deep decay in the system and also something that will further undermine it. The Sunday Times article I mention is here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises i...
In Moscow's Shadows 111: A Nervous Kremlin and a Neglected Police Force
August 20, 2023 08:00 - 58 minutes - 40.2 MBMarking the anniversary of the second day of the 1991 August Coup, the day when momentum began to shift away from the hardliners behind the seizure of power, a look at how the Putin regime - the spiritual descendant of those same plotters - is getting jumpy, cracking down on critics left and right and unable to win the loyalty of society. An aspect of this, which I explore in the second part, is how a Russian policeman's lot is not a happy one, and not only is Russia not the massively-heavi...
In Moscow's Shadows 110: Why Navalny Doesn't Hate The Goat
August 12, 2023 13:00 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBHe may have just been sentenced to another 19 years, now in a 'special regime colony', but the indomitable Alexei Navalny has just produced a broadside against the 'reformists' of the 1990s - whom he considers nothing of the sort, but instead the architects of kleptocracy and authoritarianism. And it's hard to disagree with that. I go through what is in effect his manifesto, with lots of quotes and also lots of my own marginalia, and conclude by questioning whether Navalny's very purity of p...
In Moscow's Shadows 109: A Tale of Two Last Wars, Afghanistan and Ukraine
July 26, 2023 11:00 - 53 minutes - 37 MBCan one draw meaningful parallels between the Soviets' 1979-88 war in Afghanistan, and the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine? The wars may have been very different, but I would suggest there are ways in which the Afghanistan experience helps inform our understanding of the Ukraine war - and above all, how this will affect Russia politically, socially and economically in the future. The good news is that this is one reason why, just as Afghanistan was the Soviet Union's last war, Ukraine should b...
In Moscow's Shadows 108: Where Have All The Generals Gone?
July 16, 2023 10:00 - 40 minutes - 28 MBIs there a post-mutiny purge of the military going on? What can we learn from the apparent dismissal or detention of figures such as Generals Surovikin and Popov? And what does this mean about the prospects of the war and whether there will be the military coup some seem to be anticipating? The Dara Massicot (@MassDara) twitter thread I mention starts here. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hyb...
In Moscow's Shadows 107: Where Are We Now On Prigozhin's Mutiny?
July 09, 2023 09:00 - 56 minutes - 39 MBThere still seems no escaping the fallout from Prigozhin's mutiny, whether we're talking about the fate of Wagner in Africa or those bizarre wig selfies. I take a series of questions from Oligarch/Hetman patrons as a structure to look at what we do - and don't - know at present. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations. You can al...
In Moscow's Shadows 106: The Spooky Side of Prigozhin's Mutiny
July 02, 2023 09:00 - 37 minutes - 26 MBA shorter episode, because there is still so much about the causes, course and consequences of Prigozhin's mutiny that we still don't know. Instead, I focus in on the spook side: what were the FSB, FSO and GRU doing? To a large degree, the answer is> failing. Will they be taken to account? I doubt it, and this underlines the way that 'late Putinism' is characterised by its refusal or inability to reform. The previous episode I mentioned looking at Russia's complex mercenary ecosystem is In...
In Moscow's Shadows 105: Prigozhin's Mutiny
June 25, 2023 15:00 - 50 minutes - 35.1 MBPrigozhin's mutiny... or, 36 hours of what-the-hell? It's too close for a really judicious take on this weekend's hijinks, but first thoughts on why Prigozhin did it, what happened, and what this all actually means. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations. You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the po...
In Moscow's Shadows 104: Paranormal Putinism
June 20, 2023 08:00 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBAfter the usual quick run-through of war-related news, I consider the rise of mysticism and occultism not just in Putin's circle, but Russia as a whole. Tales of rituals in the Kremlin; the Communist 'battle mage;' predictions of triumph in Ukraine. What is the reason? My view is that it is a response to anomie and despair - but also incubates hope for change, and illustrates a desire for that change. So, however bizarre, it may be grounds for optimism. The Carnegie article by Ksenia Luchen...
In Moscow's Shadows 103: The Rise of the Princeling Patrushev, the Grey Cardigan
June 11, 2023 12:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBAfter the inevitable quick look at the Ukrainian counter-offensive (too little to say really about the operation on the ground, but some points to make about the political context), I drill down into the life of Dmitry Patrushev - minister for agriculture and, arguably rather more important, son of Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev. Could he be a candidate to succeed Putin, and if so, what would this mean? If Patrushev senior is regarded as one of the grey cardinals, Jr is more...
In Moscow's Shadows 102: The Wolf that Only Howls: the Chechens in Ukraine
June 04, 2023 15:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBA spat between Wagner's Prigozhin and Chechnya's Kadyrov provides a good opportunity to look at the role of the Chechens in the Ukraine War - or, rather, just how small a role they are playing. Why is that? Because the war is a microcosm of the Putin system in so many ways, and in that system Kadyrov has managed to create a comfortable place in which he loudly performs loyalty while actually exploiting Moscow as far as he can. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which ...
In Moscow's Shadows 101: Phoney Wars and Rising Stars
May 28, 2023 16:00 - 49 minutes - 34.1 MBBakhmut has (probably, kinda) fallen and Belgorod raided. The first is hardly a real defeat for Ukraine nor a real victory for Moscow. The latter may prove more significant, not so much for the raid itself but the dilemmas it imposes on the Russians ahead of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. In the second half I kick off an occasional series of profiles of the next generation of insider political leaders by looking at Marat Khusnullin, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Construction and ...
In Moscow's Shadows 100: All the News That's Fit to Print (in Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
May 14, 2023 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBAs a change from the usual, I look through the top six news items currently on the website of Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the main government newspaper of record, on today, Sunday 14 May. What can one learn about the state of Russian politics, intra-elite conflicts, the survival of real journalism and how comfortable Russians are with being global outsiders, based on stories about everything from missile attacks in the Donbas to easier regulations on building sheds? As websites change, the six stor...
In Moscow's Shadows 99: All Hail the Tsar? Why Putinism has suffered from becoming monarchical
May 07, 2023 09:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBIt's an easy journalistic shorthand to hall Putin a new tsar (I've done it myself), but what might it mean? Coronation weekend in the UK seems a fitting time to consider the pitfalls for Putinism of its pseudo-monarchic tilt. In the second part a quickfire look at Ukraine's war of sabotage inside Russia, the incredible shrinking Victory Day parade, and the even more quickly shrinking Prigozhin. My articles on the drone attack and sabotage campaign are in the Spectator and Sunday Times; the...
In Moscow's Shadows 98: Dogs of War (and Racoons)
April 29, 2023 07:00 - 54 minutes - 37.3 MBNews that gas corporation Gazprom appears to be sponsoring a mercenary unit in Ukraine prompts me to explore the complex ecosystem of Russian private military companies and mercenaries. Not so much the onset of a new era of warlordism, I see it as a reflection of Putin's adhocratic mobilisation state. In the second half, I provide a guide to some of the varies organisations in question, from MOD fronts to ultra-nationalist thugs. The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, whi...
In Moscow's Shadows 97: Where Are They Now?
April 22, 2023 09:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBEven loyalists seem in some cases to be taking a step back, not for a moment standing against the Kremlin but less able or willing to be so vocal and visible supporting it. I look at four such figures - Alexander Bortnikov, director of the FSB, Dmitry Kiselev, general director of Russia Today, Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigatory Committee, and Alexei Dyumin, governor of Tula - and wonder what their different political strategies portend. The podcast's corporate partner and sponso...
In Moscow's Shadows 96: Of Leaks and Lengths
April 16, 2023 08:00 - 49 minutes - 33.8 MBWhat can we learn from the massive trove of US secret documents recently and incautiously leaked? And what are the signs that Russia really is digging in, not for a 'Forever War,' but certainly a lengthy one? The Moskovskii Komsomolets article I mention is here. You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show