In Moscow's Shadows 126: Truth and Tedium in Putin's Marathon Town Hall and the Russian Press
I 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 els...
17 Des 202345min
In Moscow's Shadows 125: Putin's Coming Back! And So's the Cold War?
So, 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 Coun...
10 Des 202349min
In Moscow's Shadows 124: Putin's Performative Politics
There'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 'int...
3 Des 202353min
In Moscow's Shadows 123: Russia's 'Red-Brown' Leftists, and How I Became A Voice of the West
Has 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 ca...
19 Nov 202355min
In Moscow's Shadows 122: Taking on Conventional Wisdom About Putin
After 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....
12 Nov 202342min
In Moscow's Shadows 121: Making Sense of Makhachkala
What 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...
4 Nov 202351min
In Moscow's Shadows 120: Putin is Dead! (well, probably not)
In 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? N...
29 Okt 202343min
In Moscow's Shadows 119: Manifestos to the Left of me, Manifestos to the Right
Alexei 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,...
22 Okt 202358min
