In Moscow's Shadows 135: Navalny in the late Soviet Union
Well, not really, but how Navalny's awful death helps illustrate how late Putinism in its 'banana republic' phase comes to resemble the later Soviet era -- and what this may mean for its future. My v...
18 Feb 20241h 1min
In Moscow's Shadows 134: Kaliningrad still at the Crossroads
Is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad a dangerous Russian bastion threatening the West, a point of vulnerability for Moscow, or a potential point of reconnection with Europe? How about a mix of all th...
11 Feb 202454min
In Moscow's Shadows 133: Books on Russia, Books on Ukraine
As I'm travelling this weekend, this episode is a compilation of two sets of comparative book reviews already provided to my Patrons. First up, three recent books on Russia that, together, would make...
4 Feb 202450min
In Moscow's Shadows 132: A View from the Provinces
Barring particularly high-profile developments, we tend to look at Russia through the prism of Moscow (and maybe St Petersburg). How good a picture does this give us? To try and redress the balance, I...
28 Jan 202448min
In Moscow's Shadows 131: European Strategy and Vorobyov's Prospects
A podcast of two halves. First of all, I look at the dilemmas and limitations facing European (EU and UK) strategy over Ukraine. Why is it so hard? After the break, I consider another of the younger ...
21 Jan 20241h 8min
In Moscow's Shadows 130: Questions I Can't Answer
The essence of podcasting and punditry may be to peddle confident certainties, but often we don’t really know. So today I raise some important questions to which I really don’t know the answer, but wh...
14 Jan 202445min
In Moscow's Shadows 129: It's All About Putin's Eggs
Russia is still gripped by an egg crisis, after prices rose 46% last year. Now the security apparatus is investigating hoarding and profiteering, the Agriculture Ministry is talking price controls and...
7 Jan 202439min
In Moscow's Shadows 128: Politics, War and Lunacy - a look forward to 2024
Less whimsical than the last one, the final episode of 2023 looks ahead to the coming year: the candidates for the presidential elections, the prospects for the war, and - spinning off a deeply-bizar...
29 Dec 202355min
