Russian Roulette

Experts Hanna Notte and Jon B. Alterman delve into how Russia and Iran are intensifying their collaboration post-Ukraine invasion. They discuss Russia's growing involvement in the Middle East through military partnerships with Iran, learning from Iran's sanctions evasion tactics, analyzing the impact of the Iranian president's death on relations, and Russia's strategic response to the Gaza conflict. The episode also explores complex perceptions of Russia and the United States in the region and speculates on the future trajectory of the Russia-Iran relationship.

Maria sat down with Russian independent journalist and author Mikhail Zygar, and University of Oxford professor Christopher Davis, to discuss the recent string of anti-corruption charges at the Russian Ministry of Defense, and the replacement of Sergei Shoigu with Andrei Belousov at the ministry’s head. What does all this mean for the current composition of the Russian elite, and what impact will these changes have on the Russian war effort in Ukraine?Please check out Mikhail Zygar's Substack, "The Last Pioneer."

 On May 2, 2024, Maria sat down with Michael Kimmage and Mary Elise Sarotte to discuss Michael's newest book, "Collisions the Origins of the War in Ukraine, and the New Global Instability.""Collisions" is available for purchase from Oxford University Press.

For today's special bonus episode, Max sat down with Tinatin Japaridze and Eto Buziashvili to discuss the ongoing protests taking place in Georgia. Georgian civil society is mobilizing yet again in opposition to the controversial "foreign agents" law being pushed by the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Tina Dolbaia and Nick Fenton, research associates at CSIS, dive deep into the state of Russia's defense industry amid ongoing conflict. They highlight the crucial impact of Chinese support on Russian military capabilities. The discussion underscores the urgent need for increased assistance to Ukraine, revealing the complexities of sanctions and their effectiveness. Insights also focus on the shifting production strategies within Russia and the vital military aid required for Ukraine's resilience against mounting challenges.

On this week's episode, Max and Maria sat down with Roman Dobrokhotov, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Russia-focused investigative media outlet, The Insider. Roman's team, along with colleagues at CBS's 60 Minutes and the German outlet Der Spiegel, recently concluded an investigation that uncovered evidence potentially linking Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, with the health incidents impacting U.S. government officials and their families that have come to be known as "Havana Syndrome."Show Notes: "Unraveling Havana Syndrome: New evidence links the GRU's assassination Unit 29155 to mysterious attacks on U.S. officials and their families" by Roman Dobrokhotov, Christo Grozev, and Michael Weiss (The Insider)

Max and Maria sat down with Paul Schwartz and Sam Bendett to discuss the different technological and tactical battlefield innovations taking place in Ukraine today, and what they mean for military analysts studying the war.Disclaimer: Paul and Sam's views as expressed in this episode are their own, and do not necessarily represent the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA).

Nicolas Véron of Bruegel and the Peterson Institute for International Economics joined Max to discuss the ongoing debate over Russia's frozen central bank reserves. This conversation was recorded on March 15, 2024.See "The European Union should do better than confiscate Russia's reserve money" by Nicolas Véron for Bruegel. At the time of this episode's publication, the European Council met for a summit in Brussels and was considering a plan to use the profits accrued to frozen Russian assets to provide military support for Ukraine.

This week, Maria was joined once again by Liana Fix and Nikolay Petrov to discuss Russia's March 2024 presidential election, and what "politics" looks like in the country today.Be sure to read the new paper written by Maria and Liana, "Leadership Change in Russia: Contingency Planning Memorandum" (Council on Foreign Relations).

This week, Max and Maria are joined again by Miriam Lanskoy from the National Endowment for Democracy to discuss the recent news of Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian penal colony.