In Moscow's Shadows 74: Putinism-Patrushevism
I play around with the concept of Putinism-Patrushevism, that while Putin's broad ambitions may be pretty consistent over time, quite how they are understood and meant to be achieved varies over time ...
31 Jul 202249min
In Moscow's Shadows 73: From Liberal Politics to Boris Johnson's Departure, answers to more listener questions
The final batch of patrons' and listeners' questions answered - sometimes better than others - on everything from Ekaterina Schulmann's "reverse cargo cult" thesis to the flaws of liberal politics, Na...
17 Jul 202259min
In Moscow's Shadows 72: A Tale of Two Colonels, Strelkov and Putin
I look at the career of Igor Girkin, better known as Strelkov, the ultra-nationalist who has turned against Putin - but gets away with it. What does it tell us about Russian politics? In the second h...
10 Jul 202255min
In Moscow's Shadows 71: Russia, Ukraine and beyond - another miscellany
After tackling three of recent developments worth noting - the evolving military command structure of the war, Sergei Kirienko's role and the emergence of the war economy - I tackle a dozen listeners'...
2 Jul 202258min
In Moscow's Shadows 70: A Miscellany - Being Banned, Putin and Lavrov Speak Out, Divisions in the Elite and Listeners' Questions
Something of a magazine episode. In the first half I talk about my being banned from Russia (here's the Foreign Ministry announcement), Putin at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Lavrov ...
18 Jun 202246min
In Moscow's Shadows 69: A Bargain-Basement Empire in the Offing, and Who Is Sergei Kirienko?
In the first part of this slightly rambling episode, I develop on a theme I covered for the Sunday Times (here) on whether Moscow will move beyond annexing the Donbas and Lugansk People's Republics an...
13 Jun 202251min
In Moscow's Shadows 68: No, Russia isn't winning in Ukraine, and no, there's no coup imminent...
Good news and bad news? Anyway, in the first part I explore what's happening in the Donbas, why it is far too soon to talk of Russia 'winning' and the signs it is digging in for the long haul, and loo...
29 Mai 202245min
In Moscow's Shadows 67: Why September is the Month to Watch, and 'Putin, Ukraine and the Revenge of History'
When are Russians really going to start feeling the pressure of the shooting war in Ukraine and the economic/political one with the West? I explain why I think September is when they will really start...
18 Mai 202246min
