The Russia Guy

Today's guest is Ariel Cohen, a scholar focusing on political risk, international security and energy policy, and the rule of law, working as a specialist on Russia, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He’s currently a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, the director of the Energy, Growth, and Security Program at the International Tax and Investment Center (which promotes tax reform and public-private initiatives to improve the investment climate in transition and developing economies), and he’s a columnist at Forbes.Ariel talked at length about growing up in the Soviet Union, and how his childhood experiences inform his thinking to this day, not just about Russia, but about human nature and geopolitics. And he discussed conditions in the U.S. foreign service these days, where he says the demise of regional studies has done serious damage. Also, he talked about how he came to political risk analysis.Follow Dr. Cohen on Twitter:https://twitter.com/Dr_Ariel_CohenSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQ

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Today's guest is Olesya Vartanyan, Crisis Group’s analyst for the “EU Eastern Neighbourhood.” Based in Tbilisi, she researches and produces reports on regional security issues in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, with a particular focus on breakaway regions in the South Caucasus. She told Kevin what it’s like to go from a career in journalism to the world of professional analysis, and let him ask her ignorant questions about the region.Follow her on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/Olesya_vArtFind her Crisis Group expert page here:https://www.crisisgroup.org/who-we-are/people/olesya-vartanyanSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

Today's guest is Gasan Gusejnov, a linguistics professor at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics. Many people in Russia are learning about him right now because of a Facebook post he shared on October 29, where he complained that Russians show too little interest in other languages. He said specifically that newsstands in Moscow — a city with hundreds of thousands of ethnicities besides Russian — offer only publications in “the miserable and foul Russian language.” He also argued that Russians try to justify their aversion to other languages as the privilege of a “great power,” but this insularity, he says, is actually the result of Russia’s “barbarity.” The Facebook post led to a national scandal, including threats and even a whole segment on pro-Kremlin pundit Dmitry Kiselyov’s network TV show. Gasan discussed the issue and why he thinks so many have reacted so harshly.https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/72525472Support this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQ

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Today's guest is Tikhon Dzyadko, a journalist who’s worked for Russia’s top independent radio and television broadcasters, Ekho of Moscow and TV Rain, or Dozhd, and he’s now deputy director of news programs at TV station broadcast online in Russia, RTVI. Tikhon talked to Kevin about how he got into journalism, the challenges facing independent reporters in Russia (specifically when it comes to sources), and what he thinks about Russia reporting in the United States.Follow him on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/tikhondzyadko Check out his reporting at RTVI here:https://rtvi.com/team/tikhon-dzyadko/Support this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

On today's episode, Kevin reflects briefly on his first trip to Moscow in seven years, and reviews a new investigative report by Meduza about special government communications services issued by Russia's Federal Protective Service — and why nobody actually uses them.Read the article here:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/10/09/nobody-s-homeSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

Today's show welcomes back Dr. Alina Polyakova, a fellow at the Brookings Institute, an adjunct professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins University, and a specialist in far-right populism and nationalism, and Russian foreign policy. Last month, Alina and her colleague, Chris Meserole, wrote a policy brief for Brookings, titled “Exporting Digital Authoritarianism: The Russian and Chinese Models,” where they say Russia, China, and other states are using high-tech means to expand their influence around the world, and they argue that the United States and other democracies need to take action to limit the effects of these efforts. Read the paper here:https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FP_20190827_digital_authoritarianism_polyakova_meserole.pdfFollow Dr. Polyakova on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/apolyakovaSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

Today's episode looks back at the Beslan school siege, which took place 15 years ago this month, and claimed the lives of 334 innocent people, including 186 children. Journalist Mike Eckel, now with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, then a correspondent with The Associated Press, reported from on the ground in Beslan during the school siege. He kindly came on this show to talk about the experience, and look back at perhaps the worst terrorist attack in Russian history.Follow Mike on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mike_eckelRead his work at RFE/RL:www.rferl.org/author/96267.htmlRead some of his reports from September 2004 for AP:https://products.kitsapsun.com/archive/2004/09-03/132_militants_may_be_holding_1_000_hos.htmlhttps://www.spokesman.com/stories/2004/sep/02/militants-hold-hundreds-at-russian-school-hostage/https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/militants-at-school-release-at-least-31-hostages/Other journalists remember Beslan:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/09/04/the-siege-through-journalists-eyesSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQHenrik Lundkvist, “Kalinka on a Balalaika,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH5znHQ9QRYSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

Alexandra Urman, a PhD Candidate at the Institute of Communication and Media Studies, University of Bern, is one of the co-founders of the “Here We Stand” initiative, a student project created to bring attention to three university students — Egor Zhukov, Daniil Konon, and Valery Kostenyok — who were charged with rioting in Moscow for their participation in peaceful demonstrations this summer. The charges against Konon and Kostenyok were ultimately dropped, but Zhukov still faces years behind bars.Follow “Here We Stand” on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/herewestand.space/ Visit the initiative's website:http://herewestand.space/blogSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)

Christopher Miller, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty’s Kyiv correspondent, has worked at Mashable and The Kyiv Post, and he’s been published at Politico Europe, The Guardian, The Times, The Atlantic, and many other outlets. Chris is one of the stand-out foreign journalists reporting from Ukraine, and he came onto the podcast to discuss his career and talk extensively about journalism in Ukraine and Russia.Follow him on Twitter:https://twitter.com/ChristopherJMRead his work at RFE/RL:https://www.rferl.org/author/98603.htmlRead his 2015 story, titled “The War Came to Me,” where he recalls his Peace Corps service in Eastern Ukraine in the context of the war that later broke out in the Donbas:https://mashable.com/2015/01/06/the-war-came-to-me-ukraine/Support this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQ

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Leonid Ragozin now writes often for Al Jazeera, and has worked in the past for the BBC, Newsweek, The Guardian, and many other outlets, reporting on Russia and Ukraine mostly. He is also co-author of the Lonely Planet Guides to Moscow, Ukraine, and several other Eastern European destinations. Earlier this month, he wrote an article titled “Putin Risks Losing Moscow.”Follow Leonid on Twitter:https://twitter.com/leonidragozinRead his recent article at Al Jazeera:https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/putin-risks-losing-moscow-190812092611425.htmlSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)