In Moscow's Shadows 54: Naughty or Nice? What 2022 May Hold For Russia's Rulers
To kick off the year, rather than making some grand predictions about Russia, instead I speculate as to what 2022 may offer Putin, Patrushev, Mishustin, Shoigu, Kirienko and Kadyrov. So much will depe...
1 Jan 202231min
In Moscow's Shadows 53: Trick or Treaties - Russia's proposals to 'resolve' the current crisis
A short, one-segment piece on Russia's proposed new treaties and how, despite what their deputy foreign minister may say, we have to treat them as the basis for some kind of negotiation, and see what ...
19 Dec 202120min
In Moscow's Shadows 52: Nightmares before Christmas? Ukraine and the Russian underworld
Quite what is Russia's game plan over Ukraine? It seems hard to explain through common sense, so I conduct a thought experiment: what would Putin have to be thinking to believe that a war, with all th...
12 Dec 202140min
In Moscow's Shadows 51: Ukraine, Prisons, Legitimacy and Lombards...
Something of a miscellany. First of all, latest thoughts - that turn out to be disappointingly inconclusive - about what's going on with Ukraine. Then reflections on the appointment of a career cop a...
28 Nov 202139min
In Moscow's Shadows 50: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belarus and Ukraine
In the first part, a little exploration of MID, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its decline - and yet why it still ought not to be taken lightly. Then in the second half I look at the current crises ...
21 Nov 202147min
In Moscow's Shadows 49: Survivalism in Russia. And cheese.
While still processing a month spent in Russia, I feel that the uniting leitmotif is survivalism, that every sector - from ordinary Russians through the liberal intelligentsia and the bureaucracy, all...
14 Nov 202150min
In Moscow's Shadows 48: What can you learn from Tula? On Russian provincial life and politics, Governor Dyumin, and busses
A trip to Tula, 200km south of Moscow, provides a chance to mix a little history and travelogue with some thoughts about what the city reveals about the nature of provincial life, regional politics an...
24 Okt 202146min
In Moscow's Shadows 47: Postcards from Moscow
Just back to Russia, my first trip since February 2020, and for this podcast I try something different - a random collection of impressions, mainly recorded on the street (so apologies for the often p...
17 Okt 202136min
