In Moscow's Shadows 150: An Unfunny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Putin's lengthy Q&A at the St Petersburg International Forum (SPIEF), in conversation with hawkish academic Sergei Karaganov, provided a useful opportunity to gauge his mood and his vision for both wa...
9 Jun 202456min
In Moscow's Shadows 149: Dyumin, Deterrence and a Deputy
An episode of various bits and pieces: what (if anything) can we read into Alexei Dyumin's appointment to be secretary of the State Council, what (if anything) is the Western thinking about escalation...
2 Jun 202454min
In Moscow's Shadows 148: 'Purging' the Military; the politics of anti-corruption in a corrupt system
What is behind the current spate of corruption-related arrests within the Russian military? Fears of a coup, an FSB takeover, punishing the generals for a badly-fought war? I'd say it is what it seems...
26 Mai 202444min
In Moscow's Shadows 147: The Reshuffle, Or Change To Preserve Things As They Are
There has been an unexpectedly interesting and extensive reshuffle of the Russian government, but what does it mean? I suggest it is about creating an enduring militarised, mobilised state, preserving...
19 Mai 202456min
In Moscow's Shadows 146: Britain and Russia, Eternal Frenemies
Reading Barbara Emerson's excellent The First Cold War: Anglo-Russian Relations in the 19th Century got me thinking more about the nature of British-Russian relations, which really date back to the 16...
12 Mai 202445min
In Moscow's Shadows 145: How Corruption Works Under Putin
The case of Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, long known as 'king of the kickback,' but only now arrested and charged, provides a good opportunity to consider how corruption is so central to Putin...
5 Mai 202453min
In Moscow's Shadows 144: Of Talks and Thugs
In 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 h...
21 Apr 20241h 7min
In Moscow's Shadows 143: Of MICE and Man
Why 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...
14 Apr 202458min
