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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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CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Episodes

Of The Tale of Two Russian Occupations: Georgia and Ukraine – Russian Roulette Episode 115 29.09.2021 48:46

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Mykola Bielieskov, Ph. D. student at the National Institute for Strategic Studies (NISS), Ukraine, and Natia Seskuria, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). We discuss the effectiveness and shortcomings of Russia’s hard and soft power influence tools in Georgia and Ukraine, including its “borderization” policy i...

Of Sino-Russian Military Cooperation: Alliance or Alignment? - Russian Roulette Episode 114 12.07.2021 41:40

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Paul Schwartz, research scientist in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, and Richard Weitz, senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute. Paul and Richard are authors of the latest reports focusing on Sino-Russian cooperation, including Russia’s arms transfers to Chi...

Of Russia’s Arctic Council Chairmanship and Sino-Russian Collaboration in the Arctic - Russian Roulette Episode 113 09.07.2021 43:13

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Andrei Zagorski, Head of Department for Disarmament and Conflict Resolution Studies at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), and Elizabeth Buchanan, Lecturer of Strategic Studies with Deakin University for the Defense and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian War College. The...

Of Politics in Moldova and Diversity in Russia and Eurasia Studies Field - Russian Roulette Episode 112 12.04.2021 40:29

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Ambassador Dereck J. Hogan, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, who previously served as the Deputy Executive Secretary of the U.S. Department of State, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires in U.S. Embassy Baku, Azerbaijan, and Nicole B. Aandahl, the director of CSIS’s Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs...

Of the Quad and Russia’s Role in the Indo-Pacific - Russian Roulette Episode 111 02.04.2021 36:36

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Michael J. Green, senior vice president for Asia and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and director of Asian Studies at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. They discuss the key takeaways from a U.S.-Japan-Russia Track 2 conference in which CSIS participated late la...

Of Russia’s Energy Markets, Transitions, and Future - Russian Roulette Episode 110 26.03.2021 44:27

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down Georgy Safonov, visiting fellow with our program and director at the Center for Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow; and Nikos Tsafos, deputy director and senior fellow at the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program. They discuss what global carbon-neutrality pledges and policies m...

Of The Dawn of a New Era in Arms Control?: Extending the New Start Treaty - Russian Roulette Episode 109 28.01.2021 33:32

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down Rebecca Hersman, Director of the Project on Nuclear Issues (or PONI), and Senior Adviser, International Security Program at CSIS, and Dmitry Stefanovich, Research Fellow at the Center for International Security, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO RAS) in Moscow. They discuss the reasons why the Biden and...

Of The End of a Very Long Year for U.S.-Russian Relations - Russian Roulette Episode 108 30.12.2020 37:10

In this last Russian Roulette episode of the year, Heather sits down with Ambassador John J. Sullivan, the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation and former Deputy Secretary of State. They discuss the highlights (the power of hockey diplomacy) and low points (the imprisonment of Paul Whelan) of his tenure as Ambassador, why there wasn’t a New START extension this year, as well as the impact of...

Of The Cost of Engineering Victory: Russia's September Elections and Impact of Team Navalny - Russian Roulette Episode 107 08.10.2020 40:42

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather and Cyrus Newlin, associate fellow with the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program, sit down with Masha Lipman, Senior Associate at the Institute of European, Eurasian and Russian Studies at George Washington University, Ben Noble, Assistant Professor in Russian Politics at the University College in London and Senior Research Fellow at the Higher School of...

Of Russia’s Politics of Memory – Russian Roulette Episode 106 25.09.2020 37:14

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with Hannah Alberts, analyst with U.S. European Command based in the United Kingdom, and Jade McGlynn, researcher and lecturer at the University of Oxford. They were participants in CSIS’s Understanding the Russian Military Today, a five-day, professional development program that explored the elements of Russian military power, including its c...

Of A ‘Pause’ in the Belarusian “Democratic Revolution” - Russian Roulette Episode 105 26.08.2020 26:10

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather sits down with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, and David J. Kramer, Senior Fellow in the Václav Havel Program for Human Rights and Diplomacy at the Florida International University to discuss the current situation in Belarus, the implications of the Lukashenko regime’s brutal response to peaceful protests...

Of Russian Influence in Germany - Russian Roulette Episode 104 11.08.2020 31:57

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Heather Conley sits down with Dr. Jeffrey Mankoff and Tabea Wilke to discuss elements of Jeff’s report “With Friends Like These: Assessing Russian Influence in Germany.” This report is the Germany case study of an ambitious year-long CSIS initiative to analyze Russian influence activities in the United Kingdom and Germany and Chinese influence activities in Jap...

Of Improvisation and Adaptability in the Russian Military, Part II - Russian Roulette Episode 103 11.08.2020 28:37

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Andreas Turunen and Joe Cheravitch to discuss the Russian military's electronic and psychological operations, and the roles they play in Russian doctrine and strategy. Andreas and Joe contributed chapters to the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program's report "Improvisation and Adaptability in the Russian Military." Andreas’s biography can be found...

Of Improvisation and Adaptability in the Russian Military, Part I - Russian Roulette Episode 102 01.05.2020 30:17

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Stephen Blank, Michael Petersen, and Samuel Bendett to discuss the Russian military's developing operational concepts and capabilities, and what they mean for the United States and its Allies. Steve, Mike, and Sam contributed chapters to the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program's recent report "Improvisation and Adaptability in the Russian Milita...

Of COVID19 Measures--or lack thereof--in Russia - Russian Roulette Episode 101 07.04.2020 35:51

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 t...

Of Coronavirus in Central Asia - Russian Roulette Episode 100 31.03.2020 38:41

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: htt...

Of Prospects for U.S.-Russia Arms Control - Russian Roulette Episode 99 19.03.2020 36:37

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 whethe...

Of Russia’s Political Transition and its Constitution - Russian Roulette Episode 98 27.02.2020 32:46

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 ap...

Of Russian’s Moral Dilemmas and Compromises - Russian Roulette Episode 96 24.01.2020 31:17

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 i...

Of Russia, U.S., and BRICS - Russian Roulette Episode 95 03.01.2020 36:54

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, h...

Of Russian Prospects in the Middle East- Russian Roulette Episode 94 17.12.2019 36:43

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 discuss...

Of Russian Intelligence and Political Emigres - Russian Roulette Episode 93 22.11.2019 40:07

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...

Of Mirziyoyev’s Uzbekistan- Russian Roulette Episode 92 05.11.2019 37:35

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: http...

Of Putin and Global Health: Friend or Foe? - Russian Roulette Episode 91 02.10.2019 32:16

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 Glob...

Of Putin and Xi – Russian Roulette Episode 90 20.09.2019 37:51

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Jeff sits down with Hilary Appel, the Podlich Family Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College in California. They discuss her memo “Are Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin Partners? Interpreting The Russia-China Rapprochement,” as well as the reinterpretation of Chinese investment as a ‘debt trap.’ You can find Hilary Appel’s...