Suzi talks to Jeremy Bigwood, investigative journalist, researcher, and photojournalist, about his observations and perceptions of Russia, where he has been living off and on since 2017. Jeremy’s insights are especially valuable as he spent the last five years talking to ordinary Russians—not the intelligentsia, in his words—and this helps our understanding of those who support Putin and the so-called special military operation, those who avoid taking a stance, and those who oppose Putin and the war. Jeremy left Moscow a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, going first to Odessa, then to the front lines near Mikolayiv, and from there to the front near Kherson. Jeremy returned to Washington DC a few months ago, bewildered by the divisions in the American left over the nature of the war, especially those who do not support, in his view, Ukraine’s defensive war for national survival. We get his perspective.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

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