In Moscow's Shadows 41: The Communist Party Embattled...And Occultism and Russian Politics
Having long relied on it as a stalwart of the ‘systemic opposition’, the Kremlin now seems to be treating the Communist Party (KPRF) as if it were a real opposition party. Might this push it into real...
4 Aug 202134min
In Moscow's Shadows 40: 'Mishustinism' and 'Kozakisation' - the adventures of technocrats in Moscow and the Donbas
Is PM Mikhail Mishustin thinking long-term? His vision for Russia seems to be technocratic, maybe even techno-authoritarian, but it is interesting - and maybe implicitly subversive. In the second hal...
27 Jul 202142min
In Moscow's Shadows 39: Putin's latest article on Ukraine and his attempt to place himself on the right side of history
Another short, single-segment episode, this time looking at 'On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians,' Putin's latest venture into the role of amateur historian (available in English here)....
13 Jul 202119min
In Moscow's Shadows 38: The topic I never thought I'd address: Sport
A brief, single-segment podcast on the distinctive roles of sport for today's Kremlin. Not a topic that I'd usually expect to discuss... The journal article I mentioned on RT is ‘Russia isn’t a count...
12 Jul 202119min
In Moscow's Shadows 37: Direct Line and the Politics behind Politics; and Wars in Afghanistan Compared
The main reasons for the annual ritual of Putin's Direct Line phone-in encounter with the Russian people is to allow him to present himself as the caring father of the nation, savvy chief executive an...
3 Jul 202141min
In Moscow's Shadows 36: Good News/Bad News: The Geneva Summit and Coronavirus on the Rise
The Geneva Summit: frankly, as good as one could expect, with Biden offering a shrewd carrot and stick - Russia can feel itself more like a great power, if it plays more by the rules. No step-change b...
18 Jun 202131min
In Moscow's Shadows 35: Crackdown, Belarus, HMS Defender and the Putin-Biden Summit
A bit of a grab-bag: what to make of the continuing crackdown in Russia, is there scope to undermine the cohesion of the security forces in Belarus, should HMS Defender be heading into the Black Sea, ...
12 Jun 202138min
In Moscow's Shadows 34: Belarus, of course
A spur-of-the-moment, off-the-top-of-my-head take on what's going (wr)on(g) in Belarus: the Russian connection or rather the absence of any evidence of one, Lukashenko's motivations, and above all wha...
27 Mai 202144min
