Russian Roulette

Latest Episodes:

Of COVID19 Measures--or lack thereof--in Russia - Russian Roulette Episode 101 Apr 07, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff is joined by Judy Twigg, Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Senior Associate with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. They discuss the COVID19 outbreak in Russia and how well the government and the public health system are coping with this challenge. Judy also mentions the situation in Ukraine, so keep listening for that, too.
You can find Judy Twigg’s bio and selected work here: https://politicalscience.vcu.edu/people/faculty/twigg.html, and follow her on Twitter: @jtwigg9

Her previous appearance on Russian Roulette discussing a co-authored report “Putin and Global Health: Friend or Foe?" can be found on our website: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/russian-roulette/putin-and-global-health-friend-or-foe-russian-roulette-episode-91.

Judy’s recent publications on COVID19 and Russia can be accessed: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/russias-not-ready-coronavirus and https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/what-lies-behind-russias-coronavirus-containment-effort.
Stay safe and prosper.

Of Coronavirus in Central Asia - Russian Roulette Episode 100 Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

In this 100 episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff is joined by Torokul Doorov, the Director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kazakh Service, and Aigerim Toleukhanova, digital editor with RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service. They discuss the coronavirus outbreak in Central Asia and what its implications are for regional politics, economics, society, and more.
You can find Torokul and Aigerim’s bios here: https://pressroom.rferl.org/experts
Both are also avid Twitter users, so consider following them @Torokul and @aygeryma
We thank all our listeners for their support—we couldn’t have reached episode #100 without you. Stay safe and prosper.

Of Prospects for U.S.-Russia Arms Control - Russian Roulette Episode 99 Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff is joined by Andrey Baklitskiy, a recent CSIS Visiting Fellow and a consultant at the PIR Center in Moscow. They discuss Andrey’s forthcoming CSIS report on the future of U.S.-Russia arms control, whether strategic arms control is needed in today’s context, and Russian experts’ and officials’ views of arms control. Andrey also discusses his wager on whether New START is extended or not.
You can find Andrey's report on the CSIS website: https://www.csis.org/analysis/prospects-us-russian-arms-control
The video of our recent public event with Andrey can be found here: https://www.csis.org/events/prospects-us-russia-arms-control
Andrey’s bio can be found here: https://www.csis.org/programs/russia-and-eurasia-program/staff-and-affiliates/fellows
Andrey is also an avid Twitter user, so consider following him @baklitskiy. He also hosts his own podcast (in Russian), called Принуждение к миру, which you can access on Apple Podcasts at: https://apple.co/2xQDh47
We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you. Stay safe and prosper.

Of Russia’s Political Transition and its Constitution - Russian Roulette Episode 98 Feb 27, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with William Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute and author of Law and the Russian State: Russia's Legal Evolution from Peter the Great to Vladimir Putin (Bloomsbury, 2018). They discuss the proposed Russian constitutional reform, its key provisions, and what their impact is likely to be.
Will’s previous appearance on Russian Roulette, when he discussed his book, can be found here: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/russian-roulette/law-and-russian-state-%E2%80%93-russian-roulette-episode-78 Will’s book is available for purchase here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/law-and-the-russian-state-9781474224246/, or for order from your local bookstore.
You can find his bio as well as his other works here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/william-e-pomeranz
We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

Of Russian’s Moral Dilemmas and Compromises - Russian Roulette Episode 96 Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Joshua Yaffa, correspondent for The New Yorker in Moscow. They focus on his recently published book Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia. They discuss how entrepreneurs, artists, or historians balance the demands of the state and their ambitions and whether “double think” that was present in the Soviet Union is present in Russia today.
You can find Joshua’s bio and purchase the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555637/between-two-fires-by-joshua-yaffa/
If you would like to follow Joshua on Twitter: @yaffaesque
We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

Of Russia, U.S., and BRICS - Russian Roulette Episode 95 Jan 03, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Rachel Salzman, who was recently a Visiting Scholar at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They discuss her recent book Russia, BRICS, and the Disruption of Global Order, as well as role BRICS plays in U.S. policy.
You can find Rachel’s bio here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/rachel-s-salzman
As Jeff said, her book can be a great gift to the people in your life who like reading about Russia, global institutions, and global order. You can purchase her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-BRICS-Disruption-Global-Order/dp/1626166617
The recent event she did with us at CSIS can be found here: https://www.csis.org/events/book-discussion-putin-america-and-brics Her twitter handle is: @RSSalzman
We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you. We wish you a Happy New Year!

Of Russian Prospects in the Middle East- Russian Roulette Episode 94 Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Alexey Khlebnikov, Middle East/North Africa expert at the Russian International Affairs Council and private consultant at various think tanks around the world. They discuss Moscow’s successes and failures in Syria as well as the changes in the region that have taken place since Russia’s military intervention in Syria. Khlebnikov also discusses how the U.S. and Russia could cooperate in the Middle East.

You can find Alexey’s bio here: https://russiancouncil.ru/en/aleksey-khlebnikov/

Follow him on twitter here: @AleksKhlebnikov

We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

Of Russian Intelligence and Political Emigres - Russian Roulette Episode 93 Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, investigative journalists based in Moscow and co-founders of the website agentura.ru. They discuss their recently released book The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia's Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad. You will get to hear the history of Russian intelligence as well as its relationship with exiles and emigres abroad. Andrei and Irina also comment on how they do their research and how the Skripal poisoning in the U.K. affected their sources.

Their website: http://www.agentura.ru/english/ You can purchase their recently released book as well as others here: https://amzn.to/2qw1lWF

Follow them on twitter: @irinaborogan and @AndreiSoldatov

Of Mirziyoyev’s Uzbekistan- Russian Roulette Episode 92 Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Anthony Bowyer, Programmatic and Research Advisor, Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). They discuss President Mirziyoyev’s reform program in Uzbekistan and how the country has changed, including its parties and elections, and what has remained constant.

You can find Anthony Bowyer’s bio here: https://www.ifes.org/people/anthony-bowyer. You can read his paper “Political Reform in Mirziyoyev's Uzbekistan: Elections, Political Parties and Civil Society” here: https://www.silkroadstudies.org/publications/silkroad-papers-and-monographs/item/13284-political-reform-in-mirziyoyevs-uzbekistan-elections-political-parties-and-civil-society.html

Of Putin and Global Health: Friend or Foe? - Russian Roulette Episode 91 Oct 02, 2019

Show notes

In this special joint episode of Russian Roulette and Take as Directed, Jeff is joined by J. Stephen Morrison, the Senior Vice President and Director of the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, and Judy Twigg, Professor of Political Science at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Senior Associate with the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. They discuss Stephen and Judy’s recent report “Putin and Global Health: Friend or Foe?” which outlines their recommendations for expanding U.S. engagement to promote health security and counter Russian influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The report is available at: https://www.csis.org/analysis/putin-and-global-health-friend-or-foe
You can find Stephen Morrison’s bio here: https://www.csis.org/people/j-stephen-morrison and his twitter is @MorrisonCSIS
Judith Twigg’s bio is at: https://politicalscience.vcu.edu/people/faculty/twigg.html, and her twitter handle is @jtwigg9
Consider subscribing to Global Health Center’s podcast Take as Directed at: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/take-directed.
You can also follow the Global Health Center on Twitter: @CSISHealth
We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you!

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