In the bunker with Darth Putin

This time, we’ve lured military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen, from the Royal Danish Defense College, into the bunker. Anders is also the host of the hugely popular YouTube channel ‪https://www.youtube.com/@anderspuck

We started off feeling a bit gloomy, discussing the future of European security and Ukraine, but managed to cheer each other up along the way. Oh, and Darth is not happy—he claims two of us are stealing his podcast! Anders turns the tables and asks Katie a few questions about Belarus and its role in regional security. Don't miss it!

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Melissa Chan is an Emmy-nominated journalist based between Los Angeles and Berlin. She has reported everywhere from Cuba to Canada, Mongolia to Moscow, North and South Korea.

These days she focuses on transnational issues, often involving China’s influence beyond its borders, as well as the rise of global authoritarianism and ebb of democracies. She is currently writing a graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION, in collaboration with Chinese Australian artist Badiucao. Sold at auction to Street Noise Books (US), the work of speculative fiction is set for publication in early 2025. https://www.melissachan.com/about

This episode was recorded on October 11, so if we sound a little October-ish, that's why. But don’t worry—everything we cover is still as relevant as ever. After all, some things just don’t go out of style, like Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling or Beijing’s geopolitical appetites!

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In our largest-ever gathering in "the bunker," scholars David Gioe, Huw Dylan, and Elena Grossfeld discuss their latest article, "The Autocrat’s Indispensable Service: How Russian Intelligence Secured Vladimir Putin’s Regime After Failing Him in Ukraine."

With the Prez presiding over the conversation from the end of the long table, we dive into a pressing research puzzle: Why does Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence operative himself, struggle to use intelligence data effectively in decision-making?

Professor David Gioe is Visiting Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the Department of War Studies. He joins the department as a British Academy Global Professor. He is Associate Professor of History at the US Military Academy at West Point, where he also serves as History Fellow for the Army Cyber Institute. David is also Director of Studies for the Cambridge Security Initiative and co-convener of its International Security and Intelligence program.

Elena Grossfeld is a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies, King's College London (KCL), and a member of King's Intelligence and Security Group (KISG). Her research interests are strategic culture of Russian/Soviet intelligence, Cold War, and information warfare.

Dr Huw Dylan is a Reader in Intelligence and International Security at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He is also an Associated Researcher at the Centre for Intelligence Studies in the Norwegian Intelligence School. His work is focused on intelligence in the Cold War and beyond, with a specific focus on deception operations, intelligence in diplomacy, and covert action. 

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LINKS:

The Autocrat’s Indispensable Service: How Russian Intelligence secured Vladimir Putin’s Regime after failing him in Ukraine: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13691481241258108

The autocrat’s intelligence paradox: Vladimir Putin’s (mis)management of Russian strategic assessment in the Ukraine War: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13691481221146113

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Today's guest in the bunker refers to himself as an “Ex spymaster, specializing in taking over countries." Philip Ingram MBE BSc MA GCLI is a widely published journalist, specializing in the security and intelligence arenas, who has built on a long and senior career in British Military Intelligence, with years of experience in all aspects of intelligence and security as well as strategic planning. He maintains a close interest in global events. Philip now runs his own media company, Grey Hare Media, that specializes in delivering informed content. Between the Army and this, he was a sales and marketing director for a large cast steel manufacturer, learning about business, setting the conditions for over £100m of business, and then managing director and editor in chief of a B2B security-focused print and online publication. He keynote speaks across the globe on terrorism, cyber security, information and disinformation, leadership, and mental health, as well as global security issues.

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Keir Giles is a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme. Previously, he worked with the BBC Monitoring Service and the UK Defence Academy, where he wrote and advised on Russian military, defence and security issues including human factors influencing Russian security policy, Russian strategy and doctrine, the Russian view of cyber and information security, and Russia’s relations with its neighbours in Northern Europe.

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LINKS

What Deters Russia (Chatham House) https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/09/... Russian Nuclear Intimidation (Chatham House) https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/03/...

Who Will Defend Europe? https://amzn.to/4cFI1b6

Moscow Rules: What Drives Russia to Confront the West https://amzn.to/3LePv6K

Oscar Jonsson's "The Russian Understanding of War" https://amzn.to/3cbMg3Y

Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You https://amzn.to/3aPtKxB 

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In this episode, we delve into the Belarusian legal system through Katie's firsthand experience as a co-defendant in a political trial. We discuss the challenges of finding a criminal defense lawyer—or any lawyer—willing to represent a dissident. Darth also reads an excerpt from his book and shares insights on the week's most significant tweets.

In Katie's guest appearance on the Silicon Curtain podcast, she provides an in-depth look at the everyday lives of civil society and political actors in Belarus. The conversation explores themes of surveillance, precautionary measures, and the challenges of understanding the (un)successful protests in the country. Full episode: Youtube/SiliconCurtain

As always, thank you for your support on buymeacoffee.com/inthebunkerwithdarth and patreon.com/IntheBunkerwithDarth

John Sipher, former CIA officer and a co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment, in the bunker.

We are asking our guest how it would be if the CIA were tasked to invade Canada; what were John's impressions from working in Moscow; and many details about Russian intelligence services.

Follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@InTheBunkerWithDarth 

John Sipher’s podcast: “Mission implausible” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Thank you for your support on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/IntheBunkerwi... and Buy me a coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/inthebunkerw... 

In this episode, we sit down with Edward Lucas, who is British writer, journalist, and politician.

Did you know that Edward was among the first 100 Darth's followers back in the days?

Here is some context for Edwards' reference to Lennart Meri's speech.

Full address by Estonian President Lennart Meri in 1994 is here. 

As usual, we are most thankful to each of our Patreons for the material support. 

In this episode, we sit down with General Ben Hodges to talk about Ukraine's counteroffensive in Kursk, as well as Russian army capabilities (lack thereof) and corruption.

We are most thankful to each Patreon for the material support of our podcast.

If you are not ready for a long-term commitment, such as on Patreon, but you enjoy our chatter in the bunker, buy us some coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/inthebunkerwithdarth

In this episode Eto Buziashvili joins us in the bunker to discuss the recent arrest of Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram. We talk about how telegram works, what the Kremlin uses it for, what kind of content is on there and what the implications are for the Kremlin now they believe western intelligence has access to the platform.

In June Eto wrote "Another battlefield: Telegram as a digital front in Russia’s war against Ukraine" so she's been popular recently. Here's the article: https://dfrlab.org/2024/06/10/another...