A Russian Voyage of Empires
Guest: Edyta Bojanowska on A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada published by Harvard University Press.
August 17, 2019
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Russian Socialists in the Struggle for Democracy
For the past few weeks, protests for fair elections in upcoming municipal polls have become weekly in Moscow and St. Petersburg as thousands have defied authorities to attend unsanctioned rallies. The police crackdown has been particularly harsh in Moscow. Protests on July 27 and August 3 resulted in over 2000 detentions. Images of police in riot gear wrestling citizens to the ground and beating peaceful protesters were reminiscent of the mass protests against election fraud in 2011-2012.
Members of the Russian Socialist Movement, a small Marxist, anti-Stalinist organization active in the Russian left, have been participants in local electoral campaigns and in the protests. Two RSM activists, Valeria Kovelishina and Ilya Budraitskis talk about the Russian Socialist Movement, their electoral work, the protests for democracy in Russia and what they might mean for the future.
August 10, 2019
Witnessing the Collapse of Communism
Roundtable discussion marking the 30th anniversary of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. Participants include Timothy Garton Ash, Bridget Kendall, and Jens Reich.
August 2, 2019
Rasputin, the Man and the Myth (Rebroadcast)
Guest: Doug Smith on Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs.
July 27, 2019
The Evictors
Around Moscow, there’s a whole industry of so-called “black creditors” — microfinance institutions (or MFOs) that swindle and seize debtors’ homes. Ivan Golunov’s investigation for Meduza has discovered that almost 500 apartments have been seized from their owners over the past five years without so much as a court order. In fact, this scheme involves more than simply “squeezing” people from their homes. It is possibly part of a wider, international money-laundering system. Here’s Meduza special correspondent Ivan Golunov on the ins and outs of this industry.
July 19, 2019
US Politics
Russians on Trump (Rebroadcast)
Guest: Laurence Bogoslaw on Russians on Trump: Press Coverage and Commentary published by Eastview.
July 13, 2019
Mapping the American Left
I wrote an article with Rafael Khachaturian on the American Left for the Russian journal Социология власти (Sociology of Power). You can download it here.
January 1, 2019
Russophobia in America: A Genealogy
My talk at the Kennan on the history of russophobia.
April 24, 2017
April 12, 2017
The American Mission to Save Russia
Guest: David Foglesong on the American mission to save Russia.
September 19, 2016
Title VIII and Ambassador McFaul
Carl Schreck, who is so far the only journalist to cover the defunding of Title VIII, has done a service by writing another article on
October 26, 2013
Defunding Title VIII
News that the State Department didn’t allocate funding for Title VIII, which provides funding for research and language programs related to the study of Eastern
October 23, 2013
Boston Conspiracy Theories Unite Americans and Russians
This week’s Russia! Magazine column, “Tsarnaev Conspiracy Theory Simulacrum“: The bombings in Boston carried out by Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev brought the United States and
April 25, 2013
The Tsarnaevs’ Traumatic Narratives
I don’t have much to add about the biographies of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. I certainly won’t presume the cause or intent of their bombings
April 21, 2013