Maria Popova - Post-Soviet Political Development - Freedom of Speech Vs Authoritarian Consolidation.
Silicon Curtain23 Apr 2023

Maria Popova - Post-Soviet Political Development - Freedom of Speech Vs Authoritarian Consolidation.

Those who ascribe to the Great Powers view of history, may interpret the Russia Ukraine war as a clash of political cultures, part of a wider geo-political game; they may go so far as to suggest that such a civilisational conflict was inevitable. But this interpretation ignores the agency of individuals, groups, and nations in making decisions and in some way absolves them of guilt for the crimes that are being committed on an unimaginable scale against individuals. This macro political interpretation also skirts over the illegality and corruption at the heart of Putin’s system of governance; the vertical power structure, rampant nepotism, the lack of checks and balances, rule of law and an independent judiciary is just as important in explaining how we got to this dangerous tipping point in history. Maria Popova is Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University in Montreal. She holds a BA in Spanish Literature and Government from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Government from Harvard University. She has lived and conducted research across Eastern Europe and Eurasia and its various regime incarnations—from growing up in Bulgaria before 1989, through interviewing judges and lawyers in Russia and Ukraine for dissertation research in the 2000s, to her current attempt to disentangle real from fake anti-corruption efforts in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. The ideal background to explore the road to war that Putin has taken.

Episoder(1434)

Banks DOWN in Moscow - Collapse of Russia's Digital Economy in Real-time!

Banks DOWN in Moscow - Collapse of Russia's Digital Economy in Real-time!

2026-04-03 | UPDATES #161 | Today in Russia, the digital money stopped moving. On Friday morning, customers of Sberbank — Russia’s biggest bank — began reporting failures in payments, transfers, app a...

4 Apr 9min

1021. DON'T Deal with Putin - Resurrected Evil Empire Offers Neither Peace or Security!

1021. DON'T Deal with Putin - Resurrected Evil Empire Offers Neither Peace or Security!

Victor Rud is a board member of the Ukrainian American Bar Association and chairman of its Committee on Foreign Affairs. Rud has more than 35-years of experience as an international attorney. Before U...

3 Apr 47min

RECORD Destruction of Russian Military and War Economy Assets by Ukraine in March!

RECORD Destruction of Russian Military and War Economy Assets by Ukraine in March!

Silicon Bites Ep312 | 2026-04-03 | Ten oil refineries. Twelve S-300 and S-400 air defence systems. Five strategic factories. Fourteen fuel depots. Three warships. Two naval missile systems. And a sing...

3 Apr 20min

Putin Thinks NATO is a 'Paper Tiger' According to Trump - Is he Right?!

Putin Thinks NATO is a 'Paper Tiger' According to Trump - Is he Right?!

2026-04-02 | UPDATES #160 | Now, the follow-on to Hedgehog — the story that Euromaidan Press broke on March 31st, 2026, in a piece titled exactly what it says: "Ukraine fired its NATO trainers. The al...

3 Apr 13min

NATO Torched by Trump and Ukraine - Worst Week in Alliance History!

NATO Torched by Trump and Ukraine - Worst Week in Alliance History!

Silicon Bites Ep311 | 2026-04-02 | Who is the real paper tiger? Ukraine schools NATO on drones while Trump torches the alliance. Several stories around NATO’s future have converged this week – but her...

2 Apr 10min

1022. Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol - Some Things That Should NOT Have Been Forgotten!

1022. Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol - Some Things That Should NOT Have Been Forgotten!

Cormac Smith has worked in Public Relations and Corporate Communications for over three decades. In 2016 he traveled to Ukraine to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor...

2 Apr 41min

End of Putin's Regime "Will be Terrible" Claims Girkin as 'Telega' Ban Kicks in!

End of Putin's Regime "Will be Terrible" Claims Girkin as 'Telega' Ban Kicks in!

2026-04-01 | UPDATES #159 | Girkin’s letter from prison on the Telegram Kill Switch, Shoigu Slipping, and the Iron Curtain Descending. Based on Igor Girkin's prison letter (March 22, 2026) and other r...

1 Apr 18min

Dear Leader - American Despot Chic SHOCK! This is NOT an April Fool's Prank!

Dear Leader - American Despot Chic SHOCK! This is NOT an April Fool's Prank!

Silicon Bites Ep310 | 2026-04-01 | April the 1st I thought. This is a very well-produced joke – so close to our worst fears of the dark dystopian hole down which the U.S. has fallen, and into which it...

1 Apr 12min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
popradet
stopp-verden
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
nokon-ma-ga
rss-gukild-johaug
dine-penger-pengeradet
hanna-de-heldige
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik
e24-podden
chit-chat-med-helle
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk