In Moscow's Shadows 46: New 'Foreign Agent' restrictions and 'Hybrid Warfare'
Two quite big topics this episode. First of all, the restrictive new rules on 'Foreign Agent' status that, if applied, would make it almost impossible to discuss military, security and even space topi...
2 Okt 202143min
In Moscow's Shadows 45: Pretty much everything but the election: Lavrov's corruption, Team Navalny's strategy, Zapad-2021, Stories That Didn't Bark, and Shoigu's future
I confess at this stage I couldn't think of much to say about the Russian elections that wasn't obvious, or hadn't been said, so instead I recorded a 'magazine' episode covering a range of other topic...
19 Sep 202142min
In Moscow's Shadows 44: As above, so below - a prison riot in Kamchatka and a society looking to a sanitised past for hope
A shorter episode that looks at a vicious criminal's end in a prison riot in Kamchatka, and after talking a little about prison realities in Russia, considers some possible lessons for Russia as a who...
6 Sep 202129min
In Moscow's Shadows 43: Poklonskaya, Ethnic Rumbles and Naryshkin's Claims to be Putin's Mate
Sometimes it's worth digging into what look like less important stories, to see what lessons the offer about the big picture developments, so I tackle three - who's likely to be the next ambassador to...
29 Aug 202150min
In Moscow's Shadows 42: Moscow's Afghan Worries, and the Trouble with Predictions
There may be a little schadenfreude as America abandons Afghanistan and the Taliban sweep into Kabul, but Moscow is worried, above all about the country's three traditions exports: terror, refugees an...
21 Aug 202139min
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 Juli 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 Juli 202119min
