In this special episode, Max and Maria sit down with President Zelenskyy's Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Military Personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Aliona Verbitskaya. As you will hear, this conversation was conducted in Russian, with Vera Mironova serving as Aliona's translator.

Aliona Verbitskaya and the Rights of Ukrainian POWs

Hosted by Max Bergmann and Dr. Maria Snegovaya of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at CSIS, Russian Roulette explores the politics, history, and complex societies of Russia and Eurasia. Tune in for fascinating interviews and discussions on some of the biggest questions facing the broader post-Soviet space. Produced by Tina Dolbaia and Nick Fenton.

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Today, Max and Maria were joined by Tina Dolbaia and Nick Fenton, two members of the team at CSIS, to discuss the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia program's latest report, "Back in Stock? The State of Russia's Defense Industry after Two Years of the War."

Back in Stock? The Latest Report on the Russian Defense Industry from CSIS

On this week's episode, Max and Maria sat down with Roman Dobrokhotov, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Russia-focused investigative media outlet, The Insider. Roman's team, along with colleagues at CBS's 60 Minutes and the German outlet Der Spiegel, recently concluded an investigation that uncovered evidence potentially linking Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, with the health incidents impacting U.S. government officials and their families that have come to be known as "Havana Syndrome."
Show Notes: "Unraveling Havana Syndrome: New evidence links the GRU's assassination Unit 29155 to mysterious attacks on U.S. officials and their families" by Roman Dobrokhotov, Christo Grozev, and Michael Weiss (The Insider)

A New Investigative Report on the "Havana Syndrome" Phenomenon with Roman Dobrokhotov

Max and Maria sat down with Paul Schwartz and Sam Bendett to discuss the different technological and tactical battlefield innovations taking place in Ukraine today, and what they mean for military analysts studying the war.
Disclaimer: Paul and Sam's views as expressed in this episode are their own, and do not necessarily represent the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA).

Innovations on the Battlefield in Ukraine with Paul Schwartz and Samuel Bendett

Nicolas Véron of Bruegel and the Peterson Institute for International Economics joined Max to discuss the ongoing debate over Russia's frozen central bank reserves. This conversation was recorded on March 15, 2024.
See "The European Union should do better than confiscate Russia's reserve money" by Nicolas Véron for Bruegel. At the time of this episode's publication, the European Council met for a summit in Brussels and was considering a plan to use the profits accrued to frozen Russian assets to provide military support for Ukraine.

Nicolas Véron and the Continued Debate Over Russia's Frozen Central Bank Reserves

This week, Maria was joined once again by Liana Fix and Nikolay Petrov to discuss Russia's March 2024 presidential election, and what "politics" looks like in the country today.
Be sure to read the new paper written by Maria and Liana, "Leadership Change in Russia: Contingency Planning Memorandum" (Council on Foreign Relations).

Aliona Verbitskaya and the Rights of Ukrainian POWs

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