Russian Roulette

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 is present in Russia today.   You can find Joshua’s bio and purchase the book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/555637/between-two-fires-by-joshua-yaffa/   If you would like to follow Joshua on Twitter: @yaffaesque   We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.  

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, her book can be a great gift to the people in your life who like reading about Russia, global institutions, and global order. You can purchase her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-BRICS-Disruption-Global-Order/dp/1626166617   The recent event she did with us at CSIS can be found here: https://www.csis.org/events/book-discussion-putin-america-and-brics Her twitter handle is: @RSSalzman   We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you. We wish you a Happy New Year!    

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 discusses how the U.S. and Russia could cooperate in the Middle East. You can find Alexey’s bio here: https://russiancouncil.ru/en/aleksey-khlebnikov/ Follow him on twitter here: @AleksKhlebnikov We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

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 with exiles and emigres abroad. Andrei and Irina also comment on how they do their research and how the Skripal poisoning in the U.K. affected their sources. Their website: http://www.agentura.ru/english/ You can purchase their recently released book as well as others here: https://amzn.to/2qw1lWF Follow them on twitter: @irinaborogan and @AndreiSoldatov We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

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: https://www.ifes.org/people/anthony-bowyer. You can read his paper “Political Reform in Mirziyoyev's Uzbekistan: Elections, Political Parties and Civil Society” here: https://www.silkroadstudies.org/publications/silkroad-papers-and-monographs/item/13284-political-reform-in-mirziyoyevs-uzbekistan-elections-political-parties-and-civil-society.html We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.  

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 Global Health: Friend or Foe?” which outlines their recommendations for expanding U.S. engagement to promote health security and counter Russian influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.   The report is available at: https://www.csis.org/analysis/putin-and-global-health-friend-or-foe   You can find Stephen Morrison’s bio here: https://www.csis.org/people/j-stephen-morrison and his twitter is @MorrisonCSIS   Judith Twigg’s bio is at: https://politicalscience.vcu.edu/people/faculty/twigg.html, and her twitter handle is @jtwigg9   Consider subscribing to Global Health Center’s podcast Take as Directed at: https://www.csis.org/podcasts/take-directed.   You can also follow the Global Health Center on Twitter: @CSISHealth   We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you!    

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 bio here: https://www.cmc.edu/academic/faculty/profile/hilary-appel Her memo is here: http://www.ponarseurasia.org/memo/are-xi-jinping-and-vladimir-putin-partners-interpreting-russia-china-rapprochement The “China’s Rise in Eurasia” event where Dr. Appel discusses her memo is on our website: https://www.csis.org/events/chinas-rise-eurasia Keep an eye out on the PONARS website to read Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick’s memo on the two leaders as well here: http://www.ponarseurasia.org/ We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.  

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/people/rachel-ellehuus Her recent piece “A NATO Strategy for a Post-INF World” is here: https://www.csis.org/analysis/nato-strategy-post-inf-world We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.

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. You can find George Beebe’s bio here: https://cftni.org/expert/george-beebe/ You can order his book The Russia Trap: How Our Shadow War with Russia Could Spiral into Nuclear Catastrophe starting in September: https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Trap-Shadow-Could-Escalate/dp/1250316626 We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.  

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 reforms in the former Soviet Union more broadly. You can find Erica Marat’s recent book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-politics-of-police-reform-9780190861490?cc=us&lang=en& We want more mail! If you would like to have your question answered on the podcast, send it to us! Email rep@csis.org and put “Russian Roulette” in the subject line. And, if you have one, include your Twitter handle, so we can notify you publicly when we answer your question (or, if you don’t want us to, tell us that). We look forward to hearing from you.