This week on Last Week on Earth, host Louisa Magnussen sits down with Joe Barnes, a political journalist and author who has spent his career covering Russia and the former Soviet Union and is currently based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, which was a member of the USSR (Soviet Union) until 1991.

With Russia and the war in Ukraine dominating global headlines, Joe offers an insider’s perspective on the impact of the break-up on the former USSR (Soviet Union) and how it is viewed by the different generations today. Was it a positive or negative development for the region and the countries that emerged from the break up?

Joe reflects on whether China could overtake Russia as the dominant influence across Central Asia in the post-Soviet space. The conversation concludes with a thought-provoking look at what “independence” really means in the 21st century.

Tune in for clear, accessible analysis of one of the world’s most complex geopolitical regions.

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