The Naked Pravda

Opposition politician and Anti-Corruption Foundation creator Alexey Navalny was hospitalized early on Thursday, August 20, in critical condition. At the time this podcast was recorded, he was in a coma and breathing through a ventilator in Omsk, where his flight home to Moscow was forced to make an emergency landing when he became violently ill. “The Naked Pravda” reviews what we know about Navalny’s situation and looks back at recent poisonings in Russia, as well as the muted police response in these cases, to get a sense of what he is up against. Meduza in English managing editor Kevin Rothrock discusses past attacks on Navalny as well as the alleged poisonings of Pyotr Verzilov, Sergey Mokhov, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Yuri Shchekochikhin, Alexander Litvinenko, Viktor Yushchenko, and Anna Politkovskaya. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

On August 9, Belarus concludes its most contentious, openly dirtiest, and toughest presidential campaign ever. During the race, one leading (albeit unregistered) candidate has been imprisoned (as well as two campaign chiefs of staff) and another fled the country altogether. Long-time incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko (Alyaksandr Lukashenka) now faces a surprisingly formidable challenge from Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya), a woman thrust into the nation’s political spotlight. To understand better what is at stake in the race, what it means for Lukashenko to compete against a woman, and why the Belarusian authorities arrested nearly three dozen alleged Russian mercenaries just days before the election, “The Naked Pravda” turned to three experts on Belarusian politics. (3:03) Maryia Rohava, doctoral candidate at the University of Oslo whose research focuses on nationalism, symbolic politics in post-Soviet autocracies, and identity studies (6:10) Ryhor Astapenia, fellow at Chatham House and founder and research director of the Center of New Ideas in Belarus (7:50) Franak Viačorka, journalist in Belarus and creative director at RFE/RL’s Belarus service “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

For the past two years, several major state news organizations in Russia have been working with China’s biggest media conglomerate to trade publicity about each nation’s greatest achievements. Beijing’s efforts have fallen mostly flat in Russia, however, thanks to shortages of trained personnel and shortcomings in China’s grasp of the Russian mediasphere. Moscow, meanwhile, has struggled as the propaganda pact’s junior partner. To learn more about how the Russian and Chinese state media work together, why this cooperation has stumbled, and how geopolitics plays into this relationship, “The Naked Pravda” turned to three experts, as well as Meduza’s own investigative editor: (1:23) Meduza investigative editor Alexey Kovalev explains how he first learned about media cooperation between state broadcasters in Russia and China. (5:07) Maria Repnikova, an expert in Chinese media politics and an assistant professor in Global Communication at Georgia State University, warns against using too negative a frame to analyze Chinese foreign broadcasting. (11:48) Alexander Gabuev, who chairs the Carnegie Moscow Center’s “Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program,” describes major differences between the Russian and Chinese media markets. (22:23) Professor of International Relations Sergey Radchenko discusses Moscow’s cautious approach to the expansion of Chinese influence, like the Belt and Road Initiative. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

In reporting and analysis about Russian politics, the question is ubiquitous: How does Vladimir Putin see things? While there’s no shortage of efforts to read the Russian president’s mind, a more grounded approach would be to examine the intelligence that shapes Putin’s policymaking. One of the Kremlin’s best-trusted sources of information about popular moods is the sociological work conducted by the country’s Secret Service, the Federal Protective Service (FSO).  Most Russians are unaware that the FSO, in addition to guarding top state officials, is responsible for conducting sociological surveys and monitoring popular opinion and the country’s political situation. The agency’s findings are never published, but these data inform some of President Putin’s biggest decisions. For example, fairly recently, FSO polls showing rising national discontent reportedly influenced the Putin administration’s decision to expedite the reopening of Moscow and the rollback of its coronavirus quarantine measures. To learn more about this kind of polling and the state of sociological research generally in Russia, “The Naked Pravda” turned to two sociologists who work on Russia: (4:41) Denis Volkov, the deputy director at the Levada Center, explains how Russia’s elites interpret and utilize polling. (7:34) Маrgarita Zavadskaya, a researcher at the University of Helsinki and the European University in St. Petersburg, discusses problems with big data and selling state officials on sociology. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

On the morning of July 7, federal agents arrested Ivan Safronov, a longtime journalist who recently took a job as a communications adviser to Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin. Safronov is being charged with treason and faces up to 20 years in prison.  His lawyers have been granted limited access to the case file compiled by the Federal Security Service, which indicates that Safronov is suspected of selling secret information to Czech intelligence agents about Russian military cooperation with an unnamed African Middle Eastern country. The Czechs supposedly recruited him in 2012 and he allegedly sent them the data over the Internet five years later in 2017. Outside the FSB’s headquarters in Lubyanka Square, during Safronov’s arraignment hearing on July 7, dozens of journalists picketed, each taking turns holding up signs in his defense, and police officers arrested them, one by one, for an unlawful assembly.  To understand more about trends in policing journalists and reporting on national security in Russia, “The Naked Pravda” turns to two guests on today’s show: (6:46) Rachel Denber, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division, looks back at how Russian journalists have been treated for the past 15 years. (14:49) Dmitry Gorenburg, a senior research scientist in the Strategic Studies division of CNA and an associate at the Harvard University Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (as well as the author of the Russian Military Reform blog), explains why work like Ivan Safronov’s military reporting is essential. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

On Friday, June 26, a Moscow court announced verdicts in the controversial “Seventh Studio” case involving the alleged embezzlement of almost 129 million rubles (about $1.9 million) allocated to the Culture Ministry’s “Platforma” project (a state-led contemporary art incubator). All four defendants — director Kirill Serebrennikov, former Culture Ministry official Sofia Apfelbaum, former “Seventh Studio” general producer Alexey Malobrodsky, and the studio’s former CEO, Yuri Itin — maintain their innocence. This week, “The Naked Pravda” takes a closer look at Kirill Serebrennikov to try to understand what makes him so special in Russia’s art world.  In this episode: (2:54) Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker‘s Moscow correspondent and the author of the new book “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia,” explains the contradictions that have defined Serebrennikov’s career in theater. (7:04) Maria Alyokhina, a founding member of Pussy Riot and Mediazona, describes what makes Serebrennikov unique in Moscow’s art scene and how he cultivated solidarity among artists and entertainers.  (18:06) The Calvert Journal features editor Katie Marie Davies explains the role of state subsidies in Russian theater and cinema. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on 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

On today’s show, host Kevin Rothrock speaks to online-disinformation investigation pioneer Ben Nimmo about his latest research into a sweeping Russian disinformation campaign called “Secondary Infektion.” Mr. Nimmo is the founder of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and last year he became the head of investigations for the social-media monitoring company “Graphika.” This week, Graphika released a new report about a long-running Russian information operation that is allegedly responsible for forgeries, election interference, and attacks on Kremlin critics across six years and 300 different websites and online platforms. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

This week’s show looks at Russian nationalism, activism in Russia against police brutality, and the American alt-right. We also return specifically to remarks by Mikhail Svetov from last week’s show about an initiative he’s calling “Russian Lives Matter.” The Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has occasioned a global conversation about racism and institutionalized prejudice. These themes resonate everywhere, even in countries without America’s legacy of slavery and segregation. In Russia, some right-wing groups have sought to adapt and appropriate BLM’s terminology, both cynically for publicity and deliberately in order to diminish what they’ve described as a divisive leftist upheaval. In this episode: (4:27) Meduza features editor Hilah Kohen dissects Mikhail Svetov’s motivations for the “Russian Lives Matter” initiative. (5:33) Marlene Laruelle — an associate director and research professor at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University and the co-director of PONARS — breaks down what Russian nationalism actually is. (21:56) Investigative journalist Casey Michel explains America’s alt-right. (30:25) “Pussy Riot” activist and Mediazona publisher Peter Verzilov talks about sustained activism in Russia against brutality in the justice system. (40:31) Poet, musician, and socialist activist Kirill Medvedev argues that “Russian Lives Matter” is how nationalists “wink” at each other while pretending to be inclusive. (44:53) Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a history instructor at San Jacinto College, responds to Mikhail Svetov’s interpretation of the American Civil Rights Movement. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

On today’s episode, we’ll hear from five guests about race and injustice in Russia and the Soviet Union, including from the activist behind a new initiative against police brutality in Russia built around the slogan “Russian Lives Matter.” As you may have guessed, this adapts the better known phrase “Black Lives Matter,” which is the rallying cry for an enormous social movement that is sweeping the United States. Both of these slogans are ostensibly about opposition to police brutality, but they embody very different perspectives on injustice. Black Lives Matter, or BLM, has dominated the news cycle in the U.S., largely supplanting coronavirus as the nation’s leading story. The movement has attracted attention in Russia, as well, where the state media has geopolitical reasons to highlight how the United States is a racist and failed democracy, and where many anti-Kremlin, typically Western-leaning oppositionists look to places like the United States as an example for better governance and civil society. In other words, they’re watching the U.S. from Russia, and Black Lives Matter is now front and center. In this episode: (5:56) Libertarian Party member and “Civil Society” movement head Mikhail Svetov explains the “Russian Lives Matter” initiative. (17:24) Meduza features editor Hilah Kohen argues that BLM is wrongly portrayed as riots and divisiveness. (22:59) Rogers Sure, a Kenyan man who studies engineering in Yekaterinburg, describes what it’s like to be African in Russia. (30:54) Kimberly St. Julian-Varnon, a history instructor at San Jacinto College, summarizes her fieldwork and research into African Americans living in the USSR and minority scholars in Slavic studies. (44:53) Meredith Clark, an associate professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia, breaks down the fundamentals of Black Lives Matter, about which you can learn more here. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on Fridays (or sometimes Saturdays). 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

This week’s guest is Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker‘s Moscow correspondent and the author of the new book “Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin’s Russia,” which offers a look at Putin’s Russia without focusing on Putin, studying a handful of individual case studies and the moral choices of various individuals who have played unique or interesting roles in contemporary Russia. Where does this book fit in the wider literature on Russia and ethics? Are questions of conscience a problem only for intellectuals? How broad is the power of the book’s explanatory prism? And how have time and now the coronavirus pandemic affected the trends laid out in the book? Joshua answered these questions and more. “The Naked Pravda” comes out on 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