The Naked Pravda

On February 21, Vladimir Putin delivered a nearly hour-long televised lecture on Soviet history, describing what he clearly believes are the flimsy foundations of Ukrainian statehood and arguing that the government in Kyiv owes its territory today to the supposed generosity of the Bolsheviks, particularly Vladimir Lenin. To assess this presentation of Ukrainian and Soviet history, Meduza spoke to Dr. Faith Hillis, a professor of Russian history at the University of Chicago, where she specializes in 19th and 20th century politics, culture, and ideas, exploring specifically how Russia's peculiar political institutions — and its status as a multiethnic empire — shaped public opinion and political cultures. Her most recent book, “Utopia’s Discontents: Russian Exiles and the Quest for Freedom, 1830–1930,” is the first synthetic history of the Russian revolutionary emigration before the revolution of 1917. Timestamps for this episode: (3:21) Why history is almost irrelevant to what is happening on the ground in Ukraine today(7:57) Moscow’s “gifts” to Ukraine(12:08) How the Bolsheviks reconstituted the empire(19:08) Ukrainian civic identity and “code-switching”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Meduza spoke to the two hosts of a special project organized by the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. In roughly 16 hours of interviews, “The Ambassadorial Series” features in-depth conversations with eight of the living former U.S. ambassadors to Russia and the Soviet Union, each featuring personal reflections and recollections on high-stakes negotiations, as well as discussions about a range of geopolitical issues that still dog today’s relations between Moscow and Washington. The Naked Pravda asked the two women who hosted the interviews, Jill Dougherty (an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a fellow at the Wilson Center, and CNN’s former Moscow bureau chief) and Dr. Hanna Notte (a senior research associate at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non‑Proliferation), what they learned from talking to the ambassadors who represented America in Moscow over the past three decades. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (3:06) How “The Ambassadorial Series” came together.(4:49) What sets apart 1990s U.S.-Russian diplomacy.(11:39) Key inflection points over the past 30 years.(18:45) Lessons that stand out in U.S. ambassadors’ recollections.(23:00) The death and rebirth of Kremlinology in the Information Age.Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Eastern European breakaway states of Transnistria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia exist in a sort of geopolitical limbo. Born out of wars that ended in deadlocks in the early 1990s, these self-governing regions remain unrecognized by most of the world and dependent on Russia’s backing. This isolation presents a unique set of challenges for cultural creatives living and working in these regions, as well as for journalists trying to help them tell their stories to the wider world. To find out more about the evolving contemporary cultures of Transnistria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia, The Naked Pravda turns to Calvert Journal features editor Katie Marie Davies.  Timestamps for this week’s episode: (2:19) Summarizing recent analysis and expert opinions from Michael Kofman, Leonid Bershidsky, Fyodor Lukyanov, Andrey Kortunov, Alexander Baunov, and Vladimir Denisov.(7:11) The Kadyrov regime’s war on the Yangulbayev family in Chechnya.(9:18) A new documentary film about Alexey Navalny, and Russia’s continued crackdown on the imprisoned opposition leader’s anti-corruption movement.(10:47) After German regulators pull the plug on Russia Today, Moscow responds by kicking out Deutsche Welle.(12:02) Calvert Journal features editor Katie Marie Davies discusses the challenges faced by creatives building new cultures in Eastern Europe’s breakaway states. Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

January 2022 kicked off with a flurry of tense diplomatic talks between Russian and Western officials. Moscow is seeking wide-ranging security guarantees in Europe, while simultaneously massing upwards of 100,000 troops along its Western border. The buildup has provoked international concern that Russia plans to escalate the long-simmering conflict in the Donbas into a full-fledged war, leaving the United States and NATO scrambling to deter a potential re-invasion of Ukraine.  With both Russia and Ukraine making international headlines daily, and the conflict in the Donbas entering its eighth year, Meduza speaks to two journalists, one in Ukraine and the other in Russia, about how ordinary people in these two countries view the prospect of an all-out war. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (2:29) Journalist and media manager Angelina Karyakina, head of news at UA:PBC and co-founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, answers questions about the mood on the ground in Ukraine amid the looming threat of increased Russian aggression.(19:36) Moscow-based freelance journalist Uliana Pavlova discusses her experience reporting on the complex question of how the Russian population views the Kremlin’s brinkmanship. Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

In the past two weeks, Russia has demonstrated its capacity to project military power at different corners of its periphery, sending troops to Kazakhstan for a small but symbolic peacekeeping operation and pressing sweeping security demands in Europe, where the West has accused the Kremlin of plotting a war of aggression against Ukraine. The Naked Pravda reviews three essays by political analysts in Russia about the nation’s evolving geopolitics and speaks to two experts about the events in Kazakhstan and changing dialogue between Moscow and Washington. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (5:22) Reviewing National Research University Higher School of Economics International Relations deputy director Dmitry Novikov’s January 9, 2022, essay on how many in Moscow already see Joe Biden as a lame duck president.(6:44) Reviewing Russian International Affairs Council director-general Andrey Kortunov’s January 4, 2022, essay about the fundamental “discrepancies” today between Russian and Western worldviews.(9:24) Reviewing PIR-Center consultant Alexander Kolbin’s January 12, 2022, essay on Russia’s struggle against “self-censorship” and fight for a “legitimate basis” for its own “cultural, economic, and military expansion.”(13:09) EurasiaNet Central Asia editor Peter Leonard answers questions about the CSTO peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan and about how the nation’s political system compares to Russia’s.(25:44) Russia in Global Affairs editor-in-chief Fyodor Lukyanov discusses the logic behind Moscow’s grievances in Europe and the tensions still escalating in Ukraine.Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

On this week’s show, The Naked Pravda looks back at some of the journalism and scholarly work in 2021 that made significant contributions to our knowledge about Russia. These nine articles feature incredible fieldwork, insights into how power works in Russia, and compelling stories that you might have missed over the year. Meduza spoke to the authors of three of these articles — Julia Ioffe, Pjotr Sauer, and Maria Danilova — and we asked historian Sean Guillory of The SRB Podcast for his five favorite scholarly books on Russia and the Soviet Union released in 2021. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (3:15) “A Black Communist’s Disappearance in Stalin’s Russia: What Happened to Lovett Fort-Whiteman, the Only Known African American to Die in the Gulag?” by Joshua Yaffa (The New Yorker)(6:25) “Climate Change Is Melting Russia’s Permafrost — and Challenging Its Oil Economy” by Ann Simmons and Georgi Kantchev (The Wall Street Journal)(8:58) “On a Pacific Island, Russia Tests Its Battle Plan for Climate Change” by Anton Troianovski (The New York Times)(11:51) “The Great Russian Oil Heist: Criminals, Lawmen, and the Quest for Liquid Loot” by Sergei Khazov-Cassia (RFE/RL)(15:47) “Inside Wagnergate: Ukraine’s Brazen Sting Operation to Snare Russian Mercenaries” by Christo Grozev, with contributions from Aric Toler, Pieter van Huis, and Yordan Tsalov (Bellingcat)(21:48) “Lyubov Sobol’s Hope for Russia” by Masha Gessen (The New Yorker)(28:05) Meduza speaks to Julia Ioffe about her story, “‘These Bastards Will Never See Our Tears’: How Yulia Navalnaya Became Russia’s Real First Lady” (Vanity Fair)(45:22) Meduza talks to Pjotr Sauer about his investigation, “A Royal Mark Up: How an Emirati Sheikh Resells Millions of Russian Vaccines to the Developing World,” coauthored with Jake Cordell and Felix Light (The Moscow Times)(54:07) Meduza asks Maria Danilova about her report, “Russia Has an Opioid Crisis Too — One of Untreated Pain” (Vice)(1:04:11) Sean Guillory discusses “Cold War Correspondents: Soviet and American Reporters on the Ideological Frontlines” by Dina Fainberg(1:10:09) Sean talks about “Utopia’s Discontents: Russian Émigrés and the Quest for Freedom, 1830s-1930s” by Faith Hillis(1:14:05) Sean recommends “Navalny: Putin’s Nemesis, Russia’s Future?” by Jan Matti Dollbaum, Morvan Lallouet, and Ben Noble.(1:18:32) Sean recalls why he loved “Flowers Through Concrete: Explorations in Soviet Hippieland” by Juliane Fürst(1:22:05) Sean ends his list with “The Things of Life: Materiality in Late Soviet Russia” by Alexey Golubev(1:24:03) Closing remarks and a reminder to contribute to Meduza if you’re not already doing so! “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Saturdays (or sometimes Fridays). Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

The lawyers and journalists who worked with the Team 29 project specialized in Russia’s most hopeless political prosecutions — the treason case against journalist Ivan Safronov, the extremism charges against Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption movement, and dozens more indictments all but doomed to convictions. Earlier this year, the project was forced to disband after Russia’s federal censor started blocking its website. In November 2021, the Justice Ministry designated Team 29’s former members as “foreign agents” and many of those people subsequently fled the country. Valeria Vetoshkina, today’s guest on The Naked Pravda, is one of those people.  Timestamps for this week’s episode: (0:00) Filmmaker Alexander Sokurov lectures Vladimir Putin about Russia’s “constitutional crisis”(4:23) Analysts and experts battle in op-ed columns and online over the right strategy in Ukraine(6:46) Moving closer into the Kremlin’s orbit than ever, the social network Vkontakte gets new owners(11:02) The head of Russia’s Federal Investigative Committee has no sense of humor and no patience for exoneration(13:21) Human rights lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina, a former member of the now dissolved Team 29 project, describes her education in law school and the state of her field in Russia today “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Saturdays (or sometimes Fridays). Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Earlier this week, events in space flirted with a real-life adaptation of Alfonso Cuarón’s 2013 motion picture “Gravity” when the Russian military blew up an inoperative Soviet satellite that had been orbiting the Earth since the early 1980s. Moscow insists that the debris didn’t get within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the International Space Station, but NASA says the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard ISS were awakened early and ordered to retreat to their docked spacecraft in case an impact prompted an evacuation. U.S. officials say they’ve tracked 1,500 pieces of orbital debris caused by the Soviet satellite’s destruction, but there are likely “hundreds of thousands” more smaller pieces that also endanger anything or anyone in their path. According to NASA, this trash will circle the Earth for decades, posing a constant threat to the operations of all spacefaring nations. Russia says the Americans are a bunch of hypocrites. To shed some light on Russia’s weapons test, independent analyst and disarmament expert Pavel Podvig to returns to The Naked Pravda. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (6:09) Standup comedy in Russia: reviewing Denis Chuzhoi’s new special, and Vera Kotelnikova weighs the usefulness of speaking up for persecuted colleagues(10:17) Corruption news: Crimea arrests its potty-mouthed culture minister, Mediazona investigates two possibly wrongfully jailed police officers outside Rostov, and Novaya Gazeta unearths an honest judge in Chelyabinsk(13:47) Pavel Podvig joins the show “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Saturdays (or sometimes Fridays). Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Our main story this week is Russia’s place in Europe’s energy crisis. Political risk analyst Nick Trickett, the author of the OGs and OFZs newsletter, joins the podcast to explain what consumers want from Moscow, why being a “swing producer” is inherently political, and how inflation endangers ordinary Russians. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (3:28) Law enforcement news: Hooded thugs disrupt a film screening at Memorial, and police arrest a prominent university administrator(9:46) Culture wars: Parents in St. Petersberg oust a biology teacher for using Instagram to share sex ed, and comedians in North Ossetia apologize in tears for a suggestive joke about “thigh pie”(13:48) Nick Trickett breaks down Russia’s place in Europe’s energy crisis, focusing on gas deals and inflation “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Saturdays (or sometimes Fridays). Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно

Our main story this week is the treason case against Ilya Sachkov, the 35-year-old CEO of the cybersecurity firm Group-IB. On Wednesday morning, September 29, hours after officials raided the company’s Moscow office, a local court jailed Sachkov for the next two months, pending trial. That will likely be extended several times, as the authorities collect more evidence. The Naked Pravda explores why Sachkov may have been arrested and asks what his case means for Russia’s cybersecurity industry and Moscow’s troubled cooperation with the United States against cybercrime. Timestamps for this week’s episode: (2:12) Developments in Russia’s expanding regulation of “foreign agents”(7:57) A blogger’s scandalous offense, plus RT enlists the might of Russia’s federal censor in its battle with YouTube(13:00) Dr. Josephine Wolff, an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy(16:58) Dr. Julien Nocetti, an associate fellow at the French Institute of International Relations(19:45) RFE/RL journalist Mike Eckel “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Saturdays (or sometimes Fridays). Catch every new episode by subscribing at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or other platforms. If you have a question or comment about the show, please write to Kevin Rothrock at kevin@meduza.io with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”Как поддержать нашу редакцию — даже если вы в России и вам очень страшно