Russian Roulette

Max and Maria spoke with Harley Balzer and Sergei Guriev about the recently released volume, Failure. Russia Under Putin. This conversation was recorded on July 17, 2025. Failure. Russia Under Putin is available now from Bloomsbury Publishing.

This week, Max spoke with Michael Kimmage about the recent headlines connected to Russia and Ukraine, and what they mean for the coming months. "The Limits of Putin's Balancing Act: What the Kremlin Will Sacrifice in Pursuit of Victory in Ukraine," by Michael Kimmage and Maria Lipman (Foreign Affairs, July 2025)

Max and Maria are joined by Richard Giragosian and Jeffrey Mankoff to talk about the current geopolitical moment in the South Caucasus, with a particular focus on the dynamics at play in the relationships between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. This conversation was recorded on July 9, 2025.

Hanna Notte returns to the show for a conversation with Max and Maria about what the most recent round of hostilities between Israel and Iran, plus the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, mean for Russia's own Middle Eastern strategy.  This conversation was recorded on June 25, 2025. "Russia no longer needs Iran's help to sustain the war in Ukraine," by Hanna Notte (June 2025, Financial Ti...

Max moderated a live panel discussion with Maria, and two leading experts on the Russian economy, Elina Ribakova and Vladislav Inozemtsev. The conversation focused on the findings of the recent report from the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, "The Russian Wartime Economy: From Sugar High to Hangover."

Max and Maria get another update from military expert Mike Kofman on the state of the frontlines in Ukraine.  This conversation was recorded on June 11, 2025. "The Russian Wartime Economy: From Sugar High to Hangover" by Maria Snegovaya, Nicholas Fenton, Tina Dolbaia, and Max Bergmann (June 2025, CSIS.org) "Russia's Battlefield Woes in Ukraine" by Seth Jones and Riely McCabe (June 2025, CSIS.org)...

Elina Ribakova returned to the show to speak with Max and Maria about the evolution of the Ukrainian economy since February 2022.

Max and Maria spoke with Edward Fishman about his bestselling book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare. 

Max and Maria welcome Michael Kimmage back to the show to provide his analysis of the ongoing U.S.-led negotiations to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. "What if America Abandons Ukraine?" by Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage (Foreign Affairs, May 2025). "The Zeitenwende Is Real This Time," by Michael Kimmage and Sudha David-Wilp (Foreign Affa...

Maria spoke with journalist Keith Gessen and scholar Bryn Rosenfeld about their work trying to make sense of Russian public opinion towards the war in Ukraine, and what it means for our understanding of Russian society today.

In this special CSIS crossover episode with Russian Roulette’s sister podcast, The Eurofile, Max Bergmann and co-host Donatienne Ruy welcome Tom Wright, senior fellow at Brookings and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the United States National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden administration, to discuss his recent article in Foreign Affairs outlining a U.S. strategy for Russia-Uk...

Maria spoke with Kate Bondar and Sam Bendett about their work on the latest drone and artificial intelligence technologies being employed on the battlefield in Ukraine. Read Kate's latest report, "Ukraine’s Future Vision and Current Capabilities for Waging AI-Enabled Autonomous Warfare" at CSIS.org.

Max and Maria welcomed Rose Gottemoeller back to the show, to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. As a former American diplomat who has sat across from the Russians to negotiate international treaties, she shared her insights about what she is watching as this process unfolds. This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Maria was joined by Tinatin Japaridze and Volodymyr Dubovyk to discuss how post-Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine and the states of the South Caucasus, are reckoning with the Trump administration's positions on the war in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 7, 2025.

Max and Maria sat down with Michael Kimmage and Dara Massicot for an event in the CSIS studio to discuss the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conversation took stock of the current situation on the battlefield, the state of affairs within Russia and Ukraine right now, and the diplomatic prospects for the kind of negotiated settlement currently being advocated...

Max and Maria were recently joined by Michael Kimmage and Jeffrey Mankoff for a live event in the CSIS broadcast studio to discuss the team's recent work outlining a new European strategy for containing Russia. This conversation was recorded on January 30, 2025. For a video recording of this event, please go to CSIS.org.

On today's episode, Max and Maria give their initial takes on the news that U.S. and Russian negotiators met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18 to begin efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine, notably without representatives from Ukraine or European nations present. This episode was recorded on February 18, as this story was still developing.

Max and Maria spoke with historian Sergey Radchenko about his latest book, To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power, and how the study of Soviet foreign policy can help us understand Russia's current approach to global affairs. Sergey's book is available for purchase from Cambridge University Press.

Maria spoke with Hanna Notte and Natasha Hall about the new balance of forces in the Middle East at the start of 2025, and what the current geopolitical situation in the region means for Russia.

Max and Maria were joined by Dr. Sam Greene to reflect on a quarter century of Putinism in Russia, how Vladimir Putin's rule has changed the country, and where his regime might be headed from here. Follow Sam's writing on Substack by subscribing to his blog, TL;DRussia.

Max and Maria were joined by Russian military expert Michael Kofman to discuss where the war in Ukraine may be headed in the year to come. With a new administration in Washington and political turmoil across Europe, Russia continuing to make grinding gains on the battlefield, and calls for some sort of negotiated settlement rising, the next six months could prove critical to the future direction o...

Max and Maria speak with Dara Massicot, one of the leading experts on the Russian military and the war in Ukraine. Dara gives updates on the efforts of both sides to make gains on the battlefield, along with the current risks of escalation as we head into 2025. This conversation was recorded on December 3, 2024.

 Max and Maria speak with Michael Kimmage to take stock of the impact of the recent U.S. elections on the future of the war in Ukraine, and U.S. policy towards Russia. "An Outcome 'Up for Grabs': What Can Russia and Ukraine Expect from the Next U.S. Administration?" by Maria Snegovaya, Tina Dolbaia, and Nick Fenton (Center for Strategic and International Studies)

Max and Maria spoke with Sorin Ioniță and Eto Buziashvili about the recent election results coming out of Moldova and Georgia. Both of these post-Soviet states find themselves at a geopolitical crossroads, with Russian malign influence campaigns directly impacting their domestic politics.

Max and Maria with Ben Cahill and Eddie Fishman about the current state of Russia's energy industry, and the prospects for the country's lucrative hydrocarbon exports. They also assessed the impacts of Western sanctions on the industry to date and ways those sanctions could potentially be tightened going forward. This conversation was recorded on October 7, 2024. Chokepoints: American Power in the...