Russia Unfiltered

This week on Russia Unfiltered, Jonny Tickle, Jeremy Morris, and James Pearce are joined by their first ever guest: Dr. Jeff Hawn, research fellow in international history at the London School of Economics. Together, they dive deep into the political chaos of the 1990s and ask one of the biggest questions in modern Russian history: was Putin’s Russia inevitable?

The conversation explores Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, the 1993 constitutional crisis, the collapse of Soviet institutions, and the failed attempt to build a law-based democratic state after the fall of the USSR. Jeff argues that Russia was not doomed to authoritarianism, and that many of the political structures shaping Russia today were created during Yeltsin’s struggle for power.

The discussion also covers shock therapy, the rise of oligarchic politics, the weakness of Russian federalism, comparisons with Ukraine’s post-Soviet path, and why so many Russians today still see the 1990s as a traumatic decade. Along the way, the hosts debate whether Russia could still experience another democratic opening in the future, or whether the legacy of the 1990s continues to shape the country’s trajectory.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

This week on Russia Unfiltered, Jonny Tickle, Jeremy Morris and James Pearce take a closer look at the state of Russia-focused academia in the West.

With Jeremy heading to the annual British Association for Slavic and Eastern European Studies (BASEES) conference, we use the moment to ask a bigger question: what has happened to the field since 2022? Four years into the war, access to Russia is limited, funding has shifted, and the balance between research and public commentary is changing.

We discuss whether the discipline is now dominated by war-related topics, how trends like decolonisation and Ukrainian studies are reshaping the landscape, and what gets lost when fieldwork becomes difficult or impossible. The conversation also turns to the realities of academic conferences, who gets to attend, who gets excluded, and whether these spaces still reflect genuine scholarship or something closer to advocacy.

Along the way, we explore how research trends move in cycles, from Soviet everyday life to cultural history, and why some of the most interesting work today is happening far away from headline politics.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

This week on Russia Unfiltered, Jonny Tickle, Jeremy Morris and James C Pearce take a deep dive into Mr. Nobody Against Putin — the Oscar-winning documentary that’s now been banned in Russia.

The film follows a school employee who secretly filmed the gradual militarisation of a provincial Russian school. It’s been widely praised abroad, but it’s also sparked a wave of criticism from Russians, Ukrainians and filmmakers alike.

In this episode, we go beyond the headlines and ask what the film actually shows. Is it an authentic window into life inside Russia, or a story shaped for Western audiences? How representative is it of Russian schools, and does it really prove what many people think it proves?

We also tackle the uncomfortable questions.
– Did the children and teachers give meaningful consent?
– Is the film emotionally manipulative, or just doing what all documentaries do?
– And does banning it in Russia actually strengthen its message?

Along the way, we draw on real experience inside Russian schools and discuss how education, ideology and everyday life actually intersect on the ground.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

James C Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle examine the sudden mobile internet outages across central Moscow and what they reveal about how a hyper-digital city functions when connectivity breaks down. They discuss the practical consequences, from payments and taxis to everyday routines that now depend entirely on mobile data, and why even short disruptions expose deeper vulnerabilities in a system built on constant connectivity.

The conversation explores competing explanations, from security measures and infrastructure testing to a broader pattern of increasing control over digital space. They look at the logic behind restricting access not just to platforms but to the internet itself, and how this fits into a wider trend of tightening oversight during wartime.

They also turn to the future of messaging in Russia, including the push toward domestic alternatives like Max, the resilience of Telegram, and the growing arms race between regulation and workarounds such as VPNs and alternative apps. Along the way, they discuss fraud, digital dependence, and whether Russia is moving toward a more controlled, self-contained internet model.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

Jonny Tickle is joined in person by Jeremy Morris for a rare walk-and-talk episode recorded in Moscow at the end of his research trip. They discuss first impressions from Moscow, Penza and St Petersburg, focusing on the small, everyday details that are easy to miss but reveal deeper economic and social shifts.

The conversation explores churn in the hospitality sector, labour shortages, changing migration patterns and the uneven realities of the war economy, from packed holiday weekends to empty midweek cafés. They compare Moscow with the regions, asking what you can only learn by being there, and why conversations in kitchens, bars and on the street often tell a different story from polling and media narratives.

They also discuss shifting expectations about the future, from postponed life plans to a broader sense of pessimism, alongside the resilience of small businesses and the lingering legacy of Soviet-era infrastructure. The episode ends with a wider reflection on fieldwork, access and the limits of studying Russia from a distance.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

Jonny Tickle, Jeremy Morris and James C Pearce discuss two major developments shaping Russia in 2026: the sustainability of the wartime economy and the potential shutdown of Telegram.

The first half of the episode examines a recent Economist article arguing that Russia’s economy has entered a “death zone,” where military spending sustains headline growth while gradually eroding long-term productive capacity. The trio debate whether the war economy is merely stagnant or structurally self-destructive, touching on oil revenues, investment shortages, high interest rates, mortgage growth, consumer confidence, savings disparities, and the limits of fiscal resilience. They also ask what a post-war Russian economy might look like and whether Western policymakers are prepared for that scenario.

The second half turns to the possible throttling or banning of Telegram. The discussion explores how central the platform has become for news, commentary, commerce, and everyday communication, and whether blocking it would strengthen state control or unintentionally drive more Russians toward VPNs and alternative information spaces. They consider comparisons with China’s internet controls, Russia’s attempts to promote the state-backed app Max, and the broader question of how information control intersects with economic stress.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

James C Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle discuss Russian emigration past and present, asking how today’s departures compare with earlier waves that followed the Revolution, the Second World War and the late Soviet period. They explore who leaves, who returns and why, highlighting the role of class, mobility and professional capital in shaping the ability to build a life abroad.

The conversation examines the distinctive character of the post-2022 exodus: younger, urban and often globally employable, yet not always driven purely by ideology. The trio consider whether exile weakens political legitimacy, why opposition movements abroad have struggled to build authority inside Russia, and what history suggests about the long-term influence of émigré communities.

They also discuss identity and assimilation, the tension between maintaining ties to Russia while adapting to new societies, and the practical barriers many emigrants face, from visa restrictions to financial compliance. Finally, the episode reflects on the larger question running through Russian history: whether meaningful political change tends to come from those who leave, or those who remain.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris, and Jonny Tickle talk about the return of extreme winter conditions across Russia, from record snowfalls in Kamchatka to deep freezes in Moscow and the Urals. They discuss how Russian cities cope with heavy snow, freeze thaw cycles, and infrastructure strain, including snow removal, chemical reagents, icicles, and transport disruption.

The conversation moves beyond stereotypes to look at how district heating actually works, why homes are often overheated, and why Russian consumers pay far less for heating than households in Western Europe. They examine ageing pipes, exposed infrastructure, power outages, and the political realities of maintaining essential services in a harsh climate.

Along the way, they compare continental and maritime cold, talk about clothing, preparation, and everyday survival, and reflect on why Russian winter plays such a powerful role in history, culture, and popular myths. The episode closes with recommendations for seeing real Russian winter beyond Moscow, including the Far North and Siberia.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

In this episode, we talk about Russian as a living language, not a textbook. We swap stories about how we started, what actually moved the needle, and why “just living in Russia” often isn’t enough. We get into the classic pain points for English speakers: cases, verb aspect, word order, and the weird moment when you understand plenty but still can’t produce clean sentences.

We also argue about motivation and the expat bubble, why Moscow can make it too easy to stall, and why sounding “correct” is a different skill from sounding natural. Along the way we share what’s worked for us (and what hasn’t), from tutors and dry grammar books to Anki, sentence mining, YouTube, and learning through family life. Finally, we end on what Russian gives you beyond logistics: access to culture, different registers of society, and a less provincial view of the world.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

First episode of 2026, and we’re doing what any sensible people would avoid: bad confidence and strong opinions.

We start with a quick “year that was” round, pulling out the under-the-radar Russia stories from 2025 that mattered more than the headlines: why the most interesting political signals came from the regions, not Moscow; how sanctions reshaped Russian wine and the craft beer scene; and the domestic tourism boom, from Dagestan and Kaliningrad to a surge in trips to Crimea and the growing obsession with wellness breaks and nature travel.

Then we move into a hot take-off. Each of us brings three predictions for 2026, from near-guarantees to properly ridiculous long shots, and the other two have to argue why they’re wrong. Expect arguments about the 2026 Duma election, sanctions relief vs growing absurdity, rouble strength as a warning sign, housing pressures, elite reshuffles, direct flights, and whether 2026 brings a major political pivot or more of the same.

This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.