‘What would you prefer? Would you prefer that this boy, Vasya, die because he couldn't get dialysis? Would you prefer that this girl, Katya, die from her shrapnel wounds that she suffered during the war that was obviously not her fault? Right? Like would it be better if I held my nose and refuse to engage in these compromises so these kids died? Would you be sort of happier, so you could write about how awful the bloody Putin regime is?’

Joshua Yaffa explaining the perspective of Russian humanitarian Elizaveta Glinka

A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com or a short review of Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia here.

Joshua Yaffa joins the podcast to discuss his new book Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia. He is a correspondent for The New Yorker based primarily in Moscow, Russia.

Key Highlights

• Who was Dr. Liza?
• The types of compromises must Russians make with the state to pursue their dreams
• The role of the Russian state in the arts through the story of theater director Kirill Serebrennikov
• Legal challenges for business owners in Russia through the experience of zookeeper Oleg Zubkov
• The limited space for human rights activism in Chechnya through the experience of Heda Saratova

Key Links

Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia by Joshua Yaffa

Learn more about Joshua Yaffa at www.joshuayaffa.com.

Follow Joshua Yaffa on Twitter @yaffaesque

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