All things having to do with Russia are seen in the West through a renewed Cold War prism, with simplistic portrayals more befitting a Hollywood villain. Western media has been in a panic about an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine, while they celebrated a countrywide uprising in Kazakhstan that after a few days was put down. 

So what's really happening? Is it all right-wing color revolutions provoked by the West? Local anger manipulated by elites? Perhaps a bit of both? What are the local dynamics at play? 

To discuss, Rania Khalek was joined by Volodymyr Ishchenko, a research associate at the Institute of East European Studies at Free University Berlin.