The Russia File

Latin America has long been a playground for Russia’s anti-Western influence operations. But today Russia isn’t alone in this game: In recent years Iran has become an increasingly prominent player on the continent as well—particularly in Venezuela. In this episode, Izabella Tabarovsky talks with Emanuele Ottolenghi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies about the growing Russian-Iranian influence on the continent, specifically how the two countries work together to spread anti-US and anti-Western propaganda, circumvent sanctions, and contribute to America’s worsening border crisis. The episode was recorded on September 13, 2024. For show notes and transcript, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/anti-us-influence-campaigns-latin-america-understanding-russia-venezuela-iran-triangle

Russia’s intensive involvement with the African continent goes back decades. During the Cold War, Moscow viewed Africa as its “natural” sphere of influence and a staging ground for active measures and proxy wars aiming to undermine American interests. When the USSR fell apart, an intermission followed. Today, Russia is unquestionably back. What draws Russia to Africa? Which African countries attract it and why? What purposes do relationships with various African states serve for Russia—and what makes Russia attractive to the African states that choose to partner with it? What is the role of the Russian private military companies Wagner and Africa Corps in these relationships? And what is Africa’s role in Russia’s global propaganda and disinformation effort? Izabella Tabarovsky discusses these and other questions with Maxim Matusevich, professor of history at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and chair of the university’s History Department. The episode was recorded on July 26. For time stamps and transcript, please visit here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/role-africa-russias-geopolitics

One of the sectors targeted by U.S. economic sanctions is Russia's civil aviation. Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Boeing and Airbus, whose planes constituted 70 percent of Russia's fleet, announced they would freeze the delivery of spare parts. Many predicted that Russia's commercial aviation would soon be grounded—a potentially devastating development for a country of almost seven million square miles and eleven time zones. Two years later, Russia's domestic aviation seems to have adjusted to the sanctions. How has that happened? What has been the cost of the adjustment, and what is the long-term outlook for the industry? Izabella Tabarovsky discusses the general impact of sanctions on the Russian economy with Dr. William Pomeranz, then delves into the story of the Russian aviation industry under sanctions with Dr. Steven Harris. Show notes: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russian-aviation-industry-two-years-after-sanctions

Russian authorities are taking tentative steps to limit access to abortion and other aspects of reproductive health, ostensibly to combat the demographic crisis, which has been amplified by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this episode of The Russia File, Victoria Pardini and Nina Rozhanovskaya talk with two scholars of Russian reproductive politics and health, Michele Rivkin-Fish and Nataliya Shok, about the country’s long history of reproductive rights, the current rhetoric regarding family values, and what restrictions might lie ahead. They also discuss the debates surrounding alternative ways of giving birth and what this all means for women’s rights amid Russia’s conservative turn. For more information and show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russias-battle-around-reproductive-health-and-womens-rights

Two years after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Maxim Trudolyubov, editor in chief of the Kennan Institute’s Russia File blog, to discuss where Russia is today. They discussed new trends in Russian emigration and the brain drain that never was, how the Russian economy has managed to defy predictions of immediate collapse, and who is actually running Russia. This is part 2 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/russia-second-anniversary-invasion-ukraine

Two years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Mykhailo Minakov, the Kennan Institute’s senior advisor on Ukraine and editor in chief of its Focus Ukraine blog, to discuss where Ukraine is today militarily, politically, socially and economically; Ukrainians’ sources of resilience; and why bipartisan support for Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States. This is part 1 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/ukraine-second-anniversary-russian-invasion

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has highlighted some of its own domestic problems. One of them is the uneven economic development of Russian regions and another is the unfair treatment of ethnic minorities. The Republic of Buryatia, a region in East Siberia, has been under the spotlight since February 2022, because of what looks like disproportionate representation of Buryats among the ranks of Russian soldiers. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with Buryat activist and research scientist Mariya Vyushkova about Buryat history and identity, Russia’s discriminatory mobilization policies, and the effects of the war in Ukraine on indigenous groups and ethnic minorities. For show notes, please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/buryatia-and-high-toll-russias-war-ukraine-ethnic-minorities

In August 2020, Aleksandr Lukashenko, authoritarian leader of Belarus, denied electoral fraud and claimed landslide victory in his sixth presidential election. The regime’s violent crackdown on the mass pro-democracy protests signaled a new era of political repression in the country and triggered a major emigration wave. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with political analyst Artyom Shraibman about how the situation in Belarus has changed over the past three years, the effects of the war in Ukraine on Belarusian state and society, the regime’s new repressive tools, its growing dependence on Russia, the shared values of Belarusians, and the democratic future of Belarus. For show notes and episode transcript please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/belarus-three-years-after-protest

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Berlin has emerged as a crucial center of activity for both Ukrainian refugees and Russian political exiles. It is here that many known and emerging leaders of the Russian opposition, political activists, human rights defenders, and independent journalists live, work, and gather to meet and discuss Russia’s future. Izabella Tabarovsky visited Berlin to meet with some of the people who are involved in Berlin’s emerging Russian political diaspora culture. In this episode of The Russia File, she talks to Alexey Yusupov of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Jennifer Gaspar of Araminta about Berlin as a city and a home for new Russian political exiles; what makes Germany in general and Berlin in particular such a welcome place for this group; and about organizations that have emerged to help them escape Putin’s regime and find safety abroad. For show notes and episode transcript please visit: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/berlin-home-new-russian-political-exiles