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CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Russian Roulette takes a look at the politics, economics, and culture of Russia and Eurasia through both interviews and lively discussion with experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and around the world. Hosted by CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program experts Olga Oliker and Jeffrey Mankoff.

Russian Roulette

Max and Maria were joined by Russian military expert Michael Kofman to discuss where the war in Ukraine may be headed in the year to come. With a new administration in Washington and political turmoil across Europe, Russia continuing to make grinding gains on the battlefield, and calls for some sort of negotiated settlement rising, the next six months could prove critical to the future direction of the conflict.
This conversation was recorded live in the CSIS Brack Studio on December 12, 2024. The full video from this conversation is available on the CSIS website. This is the last episode of Russian Roulette for 2024. After a brief break for the holidays, we will return with new episodes in January 2025.

The War in Ukraine in 2025 with Michael Kofman

Max and Maria were joined by Dr. Sam Greene to reflect on a quarter century of Putinism in Russia, how Vladimir Putin's rule has changed the country, and where his regime might be headed from here.
Follow Sam's writing on Substack by subscribing to his blog, TL;DRussia.

25 Years of Putinism with Sam Greene

Maria spoke with Hanna Notte and Natasha Hall about the new balance of forces in the Middle East at the start of 2025, and what the current geopolitical situation in the region means for Russia.

Russia and the Middle East in 2025

Max and Maria spoke with historian Sergey Radchenko about his latest book, To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power, and how the study of Soviet foreign policy can help us understand Russia's current approach to global affairs.
Sergey's book is available for purchase from Cambridge University Press.

Lessons from Soviet Foreign Policy with Sergey Radchenko

In a wide-ranging episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff sit down with Max Trudolyubov, a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and writer for The Russia File blog, as well as an editor at Vedomosti, the independent Russian daily.

They discuss Max’s efforts to make Russian commentators accessible to an English-language audience; Stalinism and the official view of Stalin today; religion and the state in Russia, and how this relationship has evolved; as well as Russia’s changing journalism and media landscape.

You can check out The Russia File here: http://www.kennan-russiafile.org/

You can view Max’s bio here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/maxim-trudolyubov

Be sure to keep an eye out for his forthcoming book!

As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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.

Of Religion and the State, and Writing About It – Russian Roulette Episode #52

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff sit down with Vitali Shkliarov. Vitali is a Senior Adviser for Ksenia Sobchak’s presidential campaign. Previously, he worked for the Bernie Sanders campaign and for Obama for America. In 2016, alongside Dmitry Gudkov and Max Katz, he helped organize a campaign to field over 1,000 independent candidates in Moscow municipal elections.

Olya, Jeff, and Vitali discuss Russian and American political culture; the merits of “practicing democracy” in undemocratic settings; strategies and tactics for campaigning in Russia; and the political movement that Vitali is trying to build.

To read more about Vitali and the work he’s doing, check out some of these profiles of him:

“Can Russia have a ‘Bernie’ revolution?” The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-bernie-sanders-campaign-veteran-advises-a-surging-opposition-movement-in-russia/2017/10/10/6f9479f4-a2c5-11e7-b573-8ec86cdfe1ed_story.html?utm_term=.b757442a8b20 

“The man bringing Sanders-style politics to Moscow,” CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/09/europe/vitali-shkliarov-russian-politics/index.html 

As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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.

Of Campaigns, Democracy, and Campaigns for Democracy in Russia – Russian Roulette Episode 53

In a historically-minded episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff sit with William Taubman. Dr. Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Amherst College and the author of several books, including a biography of Nikita Khrushchev that won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 2004, and, most recently, a biography of Mikhail Gorbachev. Of course, the three discuss Gorbachev: who and what inspired him, his political trajectory through the Communist Party, and how his personal traits both enabled and undermined his success and his historical role—as well as the importance of individuals to history. They also delve into Bill’s research and writing, including how he came to write this biography, some of the challenges he faced in writing it, and the evolution of his own relationship with Gorbachev over the course of many interviews. You can pick up a copy of Bill’s book at fine bookstores everywhere. If you’d like to buy the book through an independent bookstore, click here: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780393647013 For more information on Bill and his books, check out his website: https://williamtaubmanbooks.com/ As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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.

Of Gorbachev, and of Writing About Gorbachev – Russian Roulette Episode 54

In the spirit of history, Russian literature, and other things the CSIS Russia team holds dear, we bring you a Russian Roulette episode that is both deeply gloomy and highly entertaining. Olya and Jeff sit down with Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, to discuss the state of U.S.-Russia relations, historical cycles in the relationship, signaling, and ways out of the current downward spiral.
 
Note: this episode was recorded on April 2, before the Trump administration’s April 6 announcement of new sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs, and before reports emerged of a new chemical weapons attack in Syria. (It’s 2018. We can’t keep up. Can anyone?)
 
To hear more from Matt, check out his bio and recent publications, here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/matthew-rojansky
 
As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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.

Of U.S.-Russia Relations and What is to be Done – Russian Roulette Episode 55

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Olya and Jeff answer the mail! (yes, it has been too long without a mailbag). Then, Olya sits down with Michael Kimmage, a professor of history at Catholic University who from 2014-2016 held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio on the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State. They discuss Russian literature: the essential works (including those less known in the West); how literature expands and complicates America’s understanding of Russia (and vice versa); film, animation, and Russian normalcy; the role of books and prose in Russian politics and society; and why policymakers in Washington should read Russian literature now more than ever.

For more information on Michael and for a list of his publications, click here: https://history.catholic.edu/faculty-and-research/faculty-profiles/kimmage-michael/index.html

For your reference and reading enjoyment, here are some of the books, poets, films, and animations discussed in the episode:

Books and Poets

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Aleksander Solzhenitsyn: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/one-day-in-the-life-of-ivan-denisovich/pics/

The “Silver Age” of Russian poetry, including early works by Anna Akhmatova, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/anna-akhmatova, and Boris Pasternak, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/boris-pasternak

The Brothers Karamazov, https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0374528373 , and Crime and Punishment, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2554/2554-h/2554-h.htm, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Life and Fate, by Vasily Grossman: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Fate-Review-Books-Classics/dp/1590172019

The early works of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/310394/there-once-lived-a-girl-who-seduced-her-sisters-husband-and-he-hanged-himself-by-ludmilla-petrushevskaya/9780143121527/ ; https://granta.com/our-circle/

A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow, by Aleksander Radishchev: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Saint-Petersburg-Moscow/dp/0674485505

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy: https://www.amazon.com/War-Peace-Translated-Volokhonsky-Classics-ebook/dp/B005JSZJVS

Film

The Irony of Fate: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073179/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

Animation 

Nu, Pogodi! (Just You Wait!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K1j8CoOoks

As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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...

Of Reading Russia—And Our Mail - Russian Roulette Episode 56

In this episode of Russian Roulette, Olya sits down with Leonid Nersisyan, Military Analyst at the REGNUM Information Agency and Editor in Chief of the Moscow-based New Defense Order Strategy magazine. They discuss the state of military analysis in Russia, including Leonid’s experience running a military affairs magazine; the Russian military-industrial complex and how defense contracts work in Russia; some of Russia’s new strategic systems; and the INF treaty and the future of U.S.-Russia arms control. Then, Olya and Jeff sit down for an overdue current affairs segment, where they tackle the latest political developments in Armenia, which has had a very exciting few weeks of protests, culminating in a new Prime Minister.

 To read some of Leonid’s English-language analysis, check out his National Interest pieces, here: http://nationalinterest.org/profile/leonid-nersisyan.

 Watch Leonid’s public presentation at CSIS, here: https://www.csis.org/events/putins-new-strategic-systems-plans-realities-and-prospects

 You can read New Defense Order Strategy, here: http://en.dfnc.ru/

 And check out our recent CSIS event on Armenia, here: https://www.csis.org/events/armenias-new-challenges-how-should-west-respond

 As always, keep sending us mailbag questions! 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.

Of Armaments and Armenia: Russian Roulette Episode 57

After a long hiatus, Russian Roulette is back! For our first episode after our time away, listen in to a conversation Max and Maria recently had at CSIS in Washington, DC. 

Following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, The US, EU, and their partners imposed severe sanctions on the Russian economy. Sanctions of this scale and scope are unprecedented in recent history, and have major potential implications not just for the course of the war in Ukraine, but also for Russia's broader geopolitical position. 

Max and Maria hosted held a wide-ranging conversation on this topic, and they were joined by our CSIS colleague and global energy market expert, Ben Cahill. Additionally, we welcomed Dr. Sergey Aleksashenko, a Russian economist and Member of the Board of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom, and the Board of the Free Russia Foundation. 

 This event and podcast episode was made possible through the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Sanctions and the Russian Economy

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