Center for Strategic and International Studies

Russian Roulette

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Hosted by Max Bergmann and Dr. Maria Snegovaya of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS, Russian Roulette explores the politics, history, and complex societies of Russia and Eurasia. Tune in for fascinating interviews and discussions on some of the biggest questions facing the broader post-Soviet space. Produced by David Lotfi, Lexi Linafelter, and Nicholas Fenton

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Center for Strategic and International Studies

Episodes

Of a Post-INF World and NATO - Russian Roulette Episode 89 10.09.2019 31:54

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Rachel Ellehuus, deputy director and senior fellow with the Europe Program at CSIS. They discuss the European reaction to the lapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the effect of the demise on NATO’s strategy, and the prospects for the new START agreement. You can find Rachel Ellehuus’s bio here: https://www.csis.org/pe...

Of Potential Catastrophes and How to Avoid Them - Russian Roulette Episode 88 30.08.2019 44:39

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with George Beebe, the Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for the National Interest, and former head of Russia analysis at the Central Intelligence Agency. They discuss the American schools of thought on Russia, how the new tools and technology complicate strategic stability, and how to avoid potentially catastrophic outcomes. Y...

Of Kyrgyzstan and Political Transitions - Russian Roulette Episode 87 21.08.2019 38:00

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Erica Marat, who is an associate professor at the College of International Security Affairs at the U.S. National Defense University. Her recent book, The Politics of Police Reform, explores transformation of law enforcement agencies in former Soviet countries. They discuss the recent upheaval in Kyrgyzstan, as well as protests and police ref...

Of Russian Protests (and mailbag questions) – Russian Roulette Episode 86 08.08.2019 33:39

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with…well, himself, to talk about the Moscow protests and what they may mean for Russia and for the Kremlin. He also answers mailbag questions, including on the differences between U.S. and Russian ideologies and the role of nationality and history in the countries sandwiched between the West and Russia. We want more mail! If you would like to ha...

Of Prospects for U.S.-Russia Relations – Russian Roulette Episode 85 24.07.2019 42:24

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Dmitry Suslov, who is Deputy Director, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. They discuss the Trump-Putin meeting in Osaka, strategic stability, competing U.S. and Russian views of international order, and much else besides. You can find Dmitry Suslov’s bio here: https://www.hse.ru/en...

Of Politics in Moldova - Russian Roulette Episode 84 12.07.2019 45:32

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Lyndon Allin, currently a D.C. based lawyer, who was a U.S. State Department secondee to the OSCE Mission to Moldova from 2011 to 2016. They discuss Moldova’s political transition, what it means for Russia, U.S., and Europe as well as devote time to Transnistria. You can find Lyndon Allin’s bio here: https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/a...

Of Russian Influence in Europe - Russian Roulette Episode 83 26.06.2019 39:34

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Jakub Janda, head of Kremlin Watch and Director at the European Values Think-Tank in Prague. They discuss Russian disinformation and influence operations in Europe as well as European states’ responses to them. If you are interested in China’s operations in Europe and how they differ from Russia’s, stay tuned to hear Jakub mention this as we...

Of Translating Russian Fiction - Russian Roulette Episode 82 31.05.2019 40:55

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff welcomes Marian Schwartz, a prize-winning translator of Russian fiction and other works. They discuss her new translation of Olga Slavnikova’s novel The Man Who Couldn’t Die, as well as the state of Russian fiction today. Marian recommends other authors for you to discover and mentions a funny story illustrating the dangers of translating classical literat...

Of President Zelenskiy - Russian Roulette Episode 81 07.05.2019 37:00

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff welcomes back Melinda Haring, editor of the UkraineAlert blog at the Atlantic Council. As the dust settles from a raucous Ukrainian presidential campaign (though by all measures a smooth and fair election day) they discuss what a Zelenskiy presidency means for Ukraine, for Russia, and for the West, and delve into Ukraine’s parliamentary politics in the run...

Of Rogue and Peer Competitors - Russian Roulette Episode 80 16.04.2019 45:44

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Ambassador James Dobbins, Howard Schultz, and Ali Wyne, authors of the recent RAND Corporation report “Russia Is a Rogue, Not a Peer; China Is a Peer, Not a Rogue.” They discuss what type of challenge Russia and China pose to U.S. interests, how the two challenges are similar and different, and what U.S. policy can do in response to each. We...

Of Putin's World - Russian Roulette Episode 79 04.04.2019 41:41

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Angela Stent, director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies and a professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University, and author of the recent book “Putin’s World: Russia Against the West and With the Rest” (Twelve, 2019), for which she won the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s prize for the be...

Of Law and the Russian State – Russian Roulette Episode 78 14.03.2019 45:57

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with William Pomeranz, Deputy Director of the 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 evolution of law in Russia, the role of state power in the Russian legal tradition, the criminalization of commercial disputes,...

Of Fractured Regions – Russian Roulette Episode 77 27.02.2019 32:03

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Anna Ohanyan, the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College. They discuss the concept of “regional fracture” in the post-Soviet world, how Russia employs this strategy to secure its own aims, what can be done about it, and why we should care. For more on this topic, chec...

Of Kazakhstan – Russian Roulette Episode 76 13.02.2019 43:56

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Joanna Lillis, an Almaty-based journalist for The Economist, The Guardian, and EurasiaNet and author of the recent book Dark Shadows: Inside the Secret World of Kazakhstan, a vibrant portrait of the country based on 13 years of on-the-ground reporting. They discuss Nursultan Nazarbayev’s legacy, Kazakh identity and lots more. You can follow...

Of Russia and the New Congress – Russian Roulette Episode 75 29.01.2019 30:20

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Louis Lauter, Vice President for Congressional and Government Affairs at CSIS, and Colin McElhinny, Associate Director and Associate Fellow for Congressional and Government Affairs at CSIS. They discuss the role of Congress in U.S. relations with Russia, attitudes and approaches to Russia in the new Congress, and what sanctions legislation m...

Of the Day after INF, and Mail – Russian Roulette Episode 74 15.01.2019 40:22

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Adam Mount, a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, to discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, its apparent demise, and the future of nuclear arms control. Then, Jeff answers our listeners’ mailbag questions on missile defense, the link between national ide...

Of an Old Year (and New Beginnings) 01.01.2019 42:17

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff offer their take on a busy 2018 in Russia and Eurasia: the Mueller investigation, Vladimir Putin 4.0, Skripal, the World Cup, Trump and Putin’s Helsinki encounter, a new government in Armenia, the Sea of Azov crisis. It's all here, and much, much more. 2018 brought some good news and some bad news. In the latter category, we are sad to report th...

Of Ukraine’s Election Campaign – Russian Roulette Episode 72 18.12.2018 29:11

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Melinda Haring, Editor of the UkraineAlert blog at the Atlantic Council and a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. They discuss the upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine: the candidates, the issues, how it’s likely to play out, and what it all means for Ukraine and for the West. You can view Melinda’s bio, here, https://www....

Of Famine and Memory in Kazakhstan – Russian Roulette Episode 71 05.12.2018 42:36

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Sarah Cameron, associate professor of history at the University of Maryland and author of the recent book The Hungry Steppe: Famine, Violence, and the Making of Soviet Kazakhstan (Cornell University Press, 2018), which examines an important though oft-overlooked episode in Soviet collectivization, the Kazakh famine of 1930-33. They discuss the causes and conseq...

Of Bipartisanship and Bilateral Relations – Russian Roulette Episode 70 20.11.2018 41:44

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Philip Stewart, Director of the Program in Dialogue in Organizations at the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, and a Senior Associate at the Kettering Foundation. Phil directs a bipartisan dialogue on U.S. policy towards Russia—a Track 2 for Republicans and Democrats designed to formulate a sustainable U.S. policy towards Russia. They discuss the s...

Of Sanctions – Russian Roulette Episode 69 06.11.2018 41:19

On this election day 2018, Jeff sits down with Elizabeth Rosenberg, Senior Fellow and Director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for New American Security (CNAS) for a sanctions-themed episode of Russian Roulette. They discuss the strategy and evolution of the Russia sanctions program, what effects sanctions have had on the economy and politics of Russia, the risks to th...

Of Russia and the European Far Right – Russian Roulette Episode 68 24.10.2018 33:03

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Marlene Laruelle, a research professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, associate director of the Institute for Europe, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, and co-director of PONARS (Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia). Not least, Marlene is editor of the forthcoming collect...

Of Insecurity In Between – Russian Roulette Episode 67 09.10.2018 42:56

In this episode, Olya and Jeff sit down with Sam Charap, a senior political scientist at RAND Corp and coauthor of the recent RAND report “Rethinking the Regional Order for Post-Soviet Europe and Eurasia,” which explores solutions to the dilemma of mutually exclusive Russian and Western integration paths for six “in between” countries: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. W...

Of Alexander Litvinenko (and mail) – Russian Roulette Episode 66 25.09.2018 36:10

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Marina Litvinenko, an activist, campaigner, and the widow of Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian dissident poisoned in London by agents of the Russian government in 2006. They discuss Marina’s campaign to raise awareness about the Russian government’s illicit activity abroad, continuities between her husband’s case and the recent Skripal poiso...

Of Grassroots Activism in Russia – Russian Roulette Episode 65 11.09.2018 47:20

In this episode, Olya and Jeff sit down with Evgeniya Chirikova, a Russian environmental activist who got her start organizing opposition to a planned highway project that would destroy swathes of the federally-protected Khimki forest near Moscow. Our discussion of her efforts to save Khimki forest spills into a broader one about grassroots activism in Russia, its lessons, and its prospects. You c...