The Global Jigsaw

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part two focuses on Moscow’s efforts to assert itself in the separatist east.

Producer: Kriszta Satori

Russia’s land grab playbook aimed at erasing local identity and Russifying “liberated” territories. Three years into the full scale invasion of Ukraine, we ask what life is like in areas under Russian control. Part one looks at “ripe for Russification” Crimea, which was annexed 11 years ago. Part two focuses on Moscow’s subsequent efforts to assert itself in the separatist East. And in part three we explore the Kremlin’s challenges in subjugating parts of the newly occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. As time passes, the uncertainty over the future of what Ukraine calls “temporarily occupied territories” grows bigger.

Producer: Kriszta Satori

Kyiv’s answer to the Kremlin’s warspeak. In part one of this miniseries, we focused on Russia’s case, trying to see through Moscow’s war propaganda: its purpose and building blocks. In this episode, we turn to the Ukrainian side of this linguistic tug or war. Here we find that language itself is at the heart of this conflict, fuelling Ukraine’s “linguistic decolonisation”.

Producer: Kriszta Satori

Decoding the Kremlin’s warspeak to understand the power of propaganda as a weapon of war. “Let’s cut dill”, “a pop of cotton”, “meat assault”: expressions the average foreigner might struggle to understand. We analyse Moscow’s military jargon; in part two of this mini-series, we’ll explore Kyiv’s answer to it.

Producer: Kriszta Satori, Vitaly Shevchenko

What would the potential loss of Syria naval and air bases mean for Russia? The fall of the Assad regime triggered the start of possibly the greatest reshaping of the Middle East in decades, throwing into uncertainty the fate of Russia’s military bases in the country, among many other things. Tartus and Hmeimim served as a springboard for Moscow’s foreign missions elsewhere. We assess their significance for the Kremlin’s strategic footprint in Africa, and explore the alternatives.

Producer: Kriszta Satori

A shock offensive on Aleppo turned Syria’s forgotten conflict into hot war. The group spearheading it, Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), has been at pains to present itself as a credible governing body, having renounced its jihadist past. With a bounty on his head, its leader, Abu Mohammed al Jawlani, has been spinning his propaganda machine in the northern province of Idlib, wearing western suits and taking selfies with the locals. We track his journey of transformation in this episode, first published in 2023.

Producer: Kriszta Satori, Anne Dixey

Why is the Kremlin worried about population decline? President Putin has made the increase of human capital a national priority. Decision-makers have been competing to offer a solution, from fiscal incentives to encourage women to have more children, to restricting access to abortion, to banning "propaganda" of “childless lifestyle”. Will their plan work?

Producer: Francis Scarr, Veronika Malinboym, Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov

What’s behind the evolution of President Erdogan’s narrative on LGBT issues, and how did Turkey’s Islamic conservatives find common ground with American Evangelicals? President Erdogan skipped the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris in August after his granddaughter warned him about the “LGBT show”. He berated the French organisers for “debasing humanity to a level below animals”. His anti-LGBT push is relatively recent. We take a look at one battlefield of the global culture war.

Producer: Kriszta Satori

Ten years on, where do the warring parties stand? And is there a way out of the stalemate? This is not just a civil war - it’s a battle between rival camps in the Middle East, led by Iran on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia on the other. The Houthis are said to be Iran’s proxy, but they sometimes act against Tehran’s interest. We go granular on the complexities in the alliances and the rivalries that shape the conflict.

Producer: Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov

Ten years after the start of the civil war in Yemen, Sanaa, Aden and Taiz are stuck in a “no war, no peace” limbo. The three ancient cities are ruled by different warring parties, all vying to expand their reach. We look at life under the Houthis, the “government of hotels”, the separatists and the snipers.

Producer: Kriszta Satori, Elchin Suleymanov, Sumaya Bakhsh