Silicon Curtain

Rather than seeing the conflict in Russia in terms of big geopolitical concepts, like ‘multi-polar world’, it can also be seen at a much more basic level – democracy against autocracy. The area of research of my guest today will help to shed like on how a democracy reacts and evolves in reaction to a military attack, but also an informational assault over more than 8 years and becomes more resilient. We will examine how digital democracy can add to citizen participation, transparency and social cohesion. Dmytro Khutkyy is a Scholar and practitioner in digital democracy and open governance. He is a Research Fellow in Digital Governance at the University of Tartu in Estonia, Policy, and Advocacy Advisor at European Digital Development Alliance in Brussels, as well as Expert at the Institute of Innovative Governance in Ukraine. He obtained a PhD in Sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and taught sociology courses at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Subsequently, he has been involved in several international programs in Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, studying patterns of democratic participation under the contemporary global trends. In Ukraine, participated in grassroots civic activism within the Centre for Innovations Development, the Reanimation Package of Reforms, and Transparency International. Also evaluated and advised on reforms of the Ukraine’s government related to access to information, public accountability, and civic participation.

Putin, in his senseless war of aggression in Ukraine has resurrected death and destruction on a scale not seen since WWII, bringing misery and violence to the heart of Europe in the 20th Century. What myths and delusions led us to this point – and how can it be stopped? Today I am exploring these questions with Professor Dina Khapaeva. Dina Khapaeva is a Professor at the School of Modern Languages, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Director research at the Smolny Institute. Dina Khapaeva's research and teaching interests lie on the intersection of cultural studies, memory studies, post-Soviet neo-medievalism, history of emotions, and death studies. Her most recent book project The Celebration of Death in Russia and America compares the ways of engaging with death and representations of violent death in Russian and American popular culture.

Cornered like a rat, Vladimir Putin is more dangerous than ever. We want his regime to be unstable, fragile, and collapsing – but 14 months of war have shown it is remarkably resilient. We wanted the Russian people to rise up against tyranny, but more than a million fled the country instead. Analysts, politicians, and the media have been wrong about so much when it comes to Russia. What are we still getting wrong. Mark Galeotti is an author and academic – by training an historian – but in practice an interdisciplinary scholar with interests encompassing politics, criminology, security studies, international relations, and anthropology. He is a specialist in transnational and organized crime, security affairs, Russian Politics, Russian History, Intelligence and Security. Mark has a PhD in Government from LSE and has worked as a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of History at Keele University. He is a Principal Director at Mayak Intelligence, and is an Honorary Professor, SSEES at UCL. He is a Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. He has also been Professor of Global Affairs at New York University from 2009 to 2016.

“War is when two states are at war” – “We do not have a war, we have a circus. With clowns in uniform and without. They don't even know how to fight, and they can't decide to declare war on the enemy.” So said Girkin, (or Igor Ivanovich Strelkov to give his full name), a Russian army veteran and former FSB officer who played a key role in the annexation of Crimea by Russia, and later the war in Donbas as an organizer of militant groups in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). But how far have Putin’s expertise in hybrid warfare, disinformation, and Active Measures around the world, softened responses to Russia, and changed the landscape of International Relations? What role do economy expediency, war fatigue and indifference play to the advantage of Russia as war drags on? Volodymyr Dubovyk, is Associate Professor of International Relations and Director of the Centre for International Studies at Mechnikov National University in Odesa, Ukraine. Visiting professor at Tufts. LINKS: https://sites.tufts.edu/fletcherrussia/tag/volodymyr-dubovyk/https://www.newsweek.com/putin-forces-clowns-dont-know-how-fight-1795691

Putin expected Ukraine to roll over in days when he launched the full-scale war in February 2022. But this was a tragic misreading of the Ukraine people and their relationship with their leaders and system of government – which they were prepared to fight for and lay down their lives for. Instead of a small victorious war, Putin has become entangles in a quagmire that has now claimed more Russian lives than 10 years of war in Afghanistan. That war helped to accelerate the collapse of the Soviet Union – so what awaits Russia now it is in a much less stable situation under sanctions and potential defeat. ---------- SPEAKER: Konstantin von Eggert MBE is a freelance journalist, commentator, and communications consultant. He is well known as an analyst and writer on Russian and International Affairs and is a commentator at Deutsche Welle. Konstantin has fulfilled many roles in a long and distinguished career, including anchor at TV Rain and Moscow Bureau Editor at the BBC Russian Service. Konstantin was educated at Moscow University Institute of Asian and African Studies in Arabic Language and studied History at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). ---------- GUEST: Konstantin von Eggert MBE (Hon), Historian, Freelance Journalist, Commentator, and Communications Consultant.

Russia has been attacking Ukraine overtly since 2014, but even before that has sought to influence politics in Ukraine through propaganda and Information warfare, corrupt agents, and assets. But this war turned into a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Of course, Western technology and weaponry has played an important role in helping Ukrainians to resist, but also home-grown technology, techniques of resistance and strong ‘self-organising’ initiatives have all helped turn the tide from being an underdog, to become a capable and formidable opponent. Today I am speaking with Denys Gurak, an innovator and technology entrepreneur, about how Ukraine is becoming a tech powerhouse, and how this is contributing to their resistance and victory. Denys Gurak has worked with both industrial juggernauts and small technology ventures. His specializations are in biotech, aerospace, and security industries. Denys Gurak is Chief Executive Officer of A.D.A.M. (Advanced Development of Additive Manufacturing). He has a passion for developing world changing tech ventures but is also highly active in several think tanks and NGOs. He is also interested in geopolitics and accomplished at public speaking.

Those who ascribe to the Great Powers view of history, may interpret the Russia Ukraine war as a clash of political cultures, part of a wider geo-political game; they may go so far as to suggest that such a civilisational conflict was inevitable. But this interpretation ignores the agency of individuals, groups, and nations in making decisions and in some way absolves them of guilt for the crimes that are being committed on an unimaginable scale against individuals. This macro political interpretation also skirts over the illegality and corruption at the heart of Putin’s system of governance; the vertical power structure, rampant nepotism, the lack of checks and balances, rule of law and an independent judiciary is just as important in explaining how we got to this dangerous tipping point in history. Maria Popova is Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University in Montreal. She holds a BA in Spanish Literature and Government from Dartmouth College and a PhD in Government from Harvard University. She has lived and conducted research across Eastern Europe and Eurasia and its various regime incarnations—from growing up in Bulgaria before 1989, through interviewing judges and lawyers in Russia and Ukraine for dissertation research in the 2000s, to her current attempt to disentangle real from fake anti-corruption efforts in Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine. The ideal background to explore the road to war that Putin has taken.

Dr Sean McFate is a strategist and expert on international relations. He is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a professor at: Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, Syracuse University's Maxwell School, and the National Defence University’s College of International Security Affairs. His career began as a paratrooper and officer in the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. He served under Stan McChrystal and David Petraeus, and graduated from elite training programs, such as Jungle Warfare School in Panama. Sean has held many roles in a long and distinguished career, including private military contractor, business consultant and author of several successful books, including ‘The New Rules of War’ and ‘Goliath: Why the West Doesn't Win Wars. And What We Need to Do About It’. Dr McFate a consultant to the Pentagon, CIA, and Hollywood. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, and he has been interviewed on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, Vice on Home Box Office, and The Discovery Channel.

GUEST: Robin Horsfall, soldier, writer, campaigner and keynote speaker. ---------- Russia's much vaunted 'new offensive', started without huge fanfare, and seems to have petered out with little tangible success, but an unimaginable scale of losses. This is nowhere more apparent than in the attritional 'meat grinder' confrontations around Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Vhuledar. To win outright, or initiate negotiations to end the war, Ukraine will have to avoid the same failures with it's expected Spring Offensive. Can Ukraine surprise the world, and more importantly the Russian high command with bold and decisive gains? Has the offensive already begun? And is Russia gearing up for the most catastrophic round of conscription yet, with the rollout of electronic conscription in the major urban centres, - not just in the provinces this time, or through marginalised ethnic minorities. ---------- SPEAKER: Robin Horsfall joined the British Army at the age of fifteen in 1972. He served with the Parachute Regiment and 22 Special Air Service. He left the British Army in 1984 and worked as a mercenary, bodyguard and as a medical officer is many active zones around the world. He then built London Karate for twenty years, teaching thousands the art and discipline of karate. He retired and went to Surrey University aged 56 and graduated in English Literature and Creative Writing three years later. He is the author of several books including his hugely successful autobiography Fighting Scared - which I highly recommend you read. ---------- BOOKS: https://robinhorsfall.co.uk/books/ - Fighting Scared - The Words of the Wise Old Paratrooper - Warrior Poet: A Soldier’s Songs Find out more about Robin's extraordinary life and achivements here, as well as an online shop to buy his books: https://robinhorsfall.co.uk/ ----------

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have had to evacuate through Russia or were forcibly deported there. They have experienced terrible things like the “filtration” camps on the borders, separation from families, cruel interrogations by Russians, and being forced to live in another country (enemy country) without money or documents in many cases. Left stranded and struggling to leave Russia by themselves. Some, like children do not even have the option to try to return home or go to Europe. Dinara Khalilova is a Ukrainian journalist and media communications specialist, who has been reporting on aspects of the conflict in 2022. Dinara has a Masters’ degree from the UK, which gives her a unique Ukrainian / British perspective on the conflict. She is expert at creating articles and interviewing people, skills she used to support a hard-hitting report created by Sky News on the Ukrainian families forced to say goodbye to their homes and loved ones and flee. In some cases people were deported to Russia, and it’s these tragic, harrowing issues around, flight, deportation and filtration that we’ll be exploring in today’s episode.