Coffee and a Mike Gilbert Doctorow #1371
May 1, 2026
Gilbert Doctorow, an independent political analyst and historian specializing in Russian history, discusses his War Diaries Vol. 2 and the sources behind it. He explores why Putin paced the conflict. He examines European leadership, Russia’s electoral shifts, and likely military moves in Donbass and Odessa. He also connects Middle East tensions to Russia-Ukraine dynamics.
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Daily Interviews Shaped Volume Two
- Gilbert Doctorow expected a single-volume account but daily interview demands from 2024-25 forced Volume 2 to cover near-real-time analysis and links to many interviews.
- He amassed ~1,600 pages of drafts and split them into multiple volumes to include frequent press interviews and breaking insights.
Europe Prioritizes Anti-Russia Posture Over Practical Risks
- Doctorow argues European leaders are prioritizing confrontation with Russia over pragmatic responses to global crises like oil shocks from a potential US attack on Iran.
- He calls EU policy "ideological," citing proposed sanctions on Israel for buying Russian wheat rather than addressing Gaza or Middle East escalation.
War Economy And High Rates Threaten Russian Stability
- Domestic economic strain, not sanctions, may drive political change in Russia; Doctorow highlights a shift to a war economy harming SMEs via high interest rates.
- He links 21% prime rates to deliberate contraction of consumer firms while oligarch-linked defense industries get subsidized loans.
