The Russia Guy

Today (Oct. 15), Kevin discuss an interview published hours ago with a former member of St. Petersburg's infamous Internet Research Agency. Read Meduza's summary of the interview in English here: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/15/an-ex-st-petersburg-troll-speaks-outOr read Dozhd's original text (in Russian, paywalled): https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/bremja_novostej/fabrika-447628/...

Today (Oct. 13), Kevin talks about Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin's prickly, revealing outburst at an academic conference. He also reviews a new Russian TV show all about American “sleeper agents” in Moscow. It's called “Sleepers” (not “The Russians”).Bastrykin's outbursthttps: //meduza.io/en/news/2017/10/13/russia-s-investigative-committee-chief-seems-a-li...

Today (Oct. 11), Kevin looks at a developing scandal involving top officials from Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal censor, and the still-escalating “foreign agent” conflict in the U.S. and Russian news media. Russia's Justice Ministry threatens ‘special restrictions’ on the work of U.S. journalistshttps: //meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/11/russia-s-justice-ministry-threatens-special-restrict...

Today (Oct. 6), Kevin talks about a ridiculous interview by the new U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman; rumors circulate that Moscow might ban American media outlets outright; Navalny plans nationwide protests on Oct. 7; and Meduza's new deep-dive report on “YouthArmy,” a “military-patriotic movement” created with support from the Defense Ministry. The Huntsman interview: https://twitter...

On today's episode (Oct. 4), Kevin talks about this Putin quote: “I still haven’t decided if I’ll run at all, let alone against whom I’ll run.” He also summarizes a new interview with Russian media star Elizaveta Osetinskaya, and looks at five fake stories reported by Russia's “best evening news program” and “best analytical review program.”The Osetinskaya interview: https://meduza.io/en...

Today (Oct. 2), Kevin discusses three stories: Alexey Navalny's return to jail (and world headlines); a long report on how the Russian govt is saving money by denying compensation payments to dead soldiers' families; and how social workers in Yekaterinburg seized a woman's two adopted kids after her elective double mastectomy. How Alexey Navalny and his campaign manager landed in ja...

On today's episode of The Russia Guy(Sept. 28, 2017), Kevin talks about a new op-ed by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and a weird new “parental control” service offered by a Russian tech company specializing in big data. McFaul's op-ed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/09/28/enough-is-enough-how-to-stop-russias-cyber-interference/?utm_term=.ead...

In today's episode (recorded Sept. 26), Kevin discusses the “Straight Out of the Kremlin’s Toolkit: Strategies of State Actors” panel at the Atlantic Council's “StratComDC” conference, and a ridiculous defense by the city of Izhevsk against Alexey Navalny's presidential campaign. Support the show ( https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock ) Get full access to The Russia Guy at kevinrot...

On today's episode, Kevin talks about a really gross crime story out of Krasnodar (involving cannibals and maybe the worst selfies ever), a film review of “Matilda” (Russia's most controversial movie in years), and the Russian government's weird, love-hate fascination with Telegram channels. Support the show ( https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock ) Get full access to The Russia Guy...