Russian Roulette

Latest Episodes:

Red Lines and Reality: The West's Escalation Dilemma in Ukraine Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Western policymakers have faced a recurring dilemma: how much escalation risk is acceptable in pursuit of a Ukrainian battlefield advantage?

Samuel Charap and Mick Ryan join Maria Snegovaya to discuss whether Western fears of escalation systematically delayed critical military aid, how to weigh battlefield support against diplomatic engagement, and what victory for Ukraine might actually look like — including how different U.S. administrations have approached each of these questions.

Guests:

Dr. Samuel Charap | Distinguished Chair in Russia and Eurasia Policy, Senior Political Scientist, RAND

Major General (ret.) Mick Ryan | Senior Fellow in Military Studies, Lowy Institute

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Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Where Crises Converge: Russia's Role in the Middle East Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Max Bergmann is joined by Hanna Notte and Natasha Hall to map the escalation risks, assess Russia's shifting military and diplomatic footprint in Syria under the new government of Ahmed al-Sharaa, and parse what a surprise CIA visit to Moscow reveals about where this global realignment is heading. Along the way, they examine Ukrainian strikes on Iranian vessels, allegations that Moscow is feeding Tehran intelligence on U.S. positions, and what a deepening Russia-Iran economic partnership means for the wider region.

Guests:

Hanna Notte | director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; senior associate (non-resident), Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program, CSIS

Natasha Hall | senior advocate for the Middle East, Refugees International; Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Program, Chatham House; senior associate (non-resident), Middle East Program, CSIS

Mentioned:

Resilience Through Linkage: Russia, Iran, and Aspirations for North–South Trade – CSIS Report byMaria Snegovaya, Tina Dolbaia, and Nicholas Fenton

We Shall Outlast Them: Putin's Global Campaign to Defeat the West – Book by Hanna Notte

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Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Putin’s Propaganda Machine in Russian Classrooms (A Russian Language Exclusive) Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

Maria Snegovaya sits down with Pavel Talankin –– a Russian schoolteacher who became an unlikely lens into the Russian propaganda machine. His documentary, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, captured two years of footage from inside a provincial Russian classroom as Putin's war transformed his students into instruments of the state. The film won the 2026 Oscar for Best Documentary. Talankin joins Russian Roulette's first episode recorded in Russianto discuss his inspiration, experience making the film, and what his story reveals about the depths of propaganda in Russia's education system today.

NOTE: This episode is in Russian. An English version of the audio (created using AI dubbing software and reviewed by native speakers) is available in the Russian Roulette podcast feed.

Mentioned:

Mr. Nobody Against Putin | Documentary film directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Russia's Classrooms Face Putin’s Propaganda Machine Aug 28, 2026

Show notes

NOTE: This interview was conducted in Russian. The English audio was created with AI dubbing software and reviewed by native speakers of both languages for accuracy.

Maria Snegovaya sits down with Pavel Talankin –– a Russian schoolteacher who became an unlikely lens into the Russian propaganda machine. His documentary, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, captured two years of footage from inside a provincial Russian classroom as Putin's war transformed his students into instruments of the state. The film won the 2026 Oscar for Best Documentary. Talankin joins Russian Roulette to discuss what he witnessed, the process of making the film, and what his story reveals about the depths of propaganda in Russia's education system today.

Mentioned:

Mr. Nobody Against Putin | Documentary film directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

How Ukraine Fights: Reflections from the Front Lines feat. Nate Vance Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Maria Snegovaya sits down with Nate Vance — a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces after the 2022 invasion — to discuss Ukrainian and Russian military tactics, life as an infantryman on the front lines, and the impact of Soviet legacies on military culture.

Vance spent three years with the Da Vinci Wolves, seeing action from Bakhmut to Pokrovsk, before leaving in early 2025 when his first cousin JD Vance's rise to the vice presidency made him a potential Russian target.

Mentioned:

Russian Blood and Treasure: The Ballooning Costs of Putin’s War: CSIS Publication by Seth Jones and Riley McCabe

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Has the War Come Home to Russia? Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

Max Bergmann sits down with Maria Snegovaya and Jade McGlynn, senior associate (non-resident) with the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program and senior research fellow / head of the Ukraine and Russia Program at King's College London, to discuss how Russians have responded to major shocks over the past four years, and whether polling data in Russia truly indicates shifting attitudes toward the war.

Mentioned:

Russian Attitudes Are Shifting as the War’s Effects Come Home, Maria Snegovaya and Jade McGlynn

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

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Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Ukraine's Dynamic Defense Sector: Combat Hubs, Air Defense, and Non-Stop Innovation Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

Investigative journalist Tim Mak, who has been stationed in Ukraine since 2022, joins Max and Maria for a discussion about life in Kyiv, the processes and challenges driving innovation in Ukraine’s dynamic civilian defense combat hubs, and the impact of AI and information integration on the battlefield.

Mentioned:

The Counteroffensive by Tim Mak, Substack

The Arsenal, Tim Mak

Build Back Ukraine, Tim Mak

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

How Drone Innovation Reshapes the Battlefield in Ukraine with Kate Bondar Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

Max and Maria sit down with Kate Bondar, Senior Fellow at CSIS’s Wadhwani AI Center and expert on autonomous warfare, to discuss the role of drones in combat in Ukraine, including Russia’s innovation tactics and takeaways from the recent increase in strikes on Moscow and Kyiv.

Mentioned:

How Russia Is Building a Sovereign Drone Ecosystem for AI-Driven Autonomy | CSIS report by Kate Bondar

Defining Autonomy: Why Software, Not Drones, Will Decide the Next War | CSIS report by Kate Bondar and Matt Mande

Russia Is Building Tomorrow’s War Machine | Kate Bondar in The New York Times

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Dr. Nina Khrushcheva: History, Evolution, and a View from Inside Russia Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

Max and Maria sit down with Dr. Nina Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs at the New School and one of the world’s leading experts on Russia, to discuss her new Russian‑language book Nikita Khrushchev: Vozhd vne sistemy (“Nikita Khrushchev: An Outlier of the System”) and her experience as one of the few scholars still traveling to and from Russia. As Nikita Khrushchev’s great‑granddaughter and adoptive granddaughter, she offers a rare, personal view of how Russian culture, politics, and society are evolving.

Mentioned:

No Exit from Stalin | by Nina L. Khrushcheva in Project Syndicate (April 2026)

Russia’s Descent Into Tyranny: How Four Years of War Have Remade Society | by Nina L. Khrushcheva in Foreign Affairs (Dec. 2025)

Nikita Khrushchev: Vozhd vne sistemy (Nikita Khrushchev: An Outlier of the System) | Book by Nina L. Khrushcheva

Feedback? Suggestions? Ideas to help us improve? Email us at erep@csis.org.

If you love Russian Roulette, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to our sister podcast, covering all things Europe through a Washington lens: CSIS Podcasts | The Eurofile

Shifting Tides in Ukraine - Lawrence Freedman on the Future of the War May 29, 2026

Show notes

Max and Maria welcome Sir Lawrence Freedman, historian, author, and Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London, to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine, how he sees the conflict evolving, and what to expect in the critical months ahead.