Ivan the Terrible? Or Peter the Great?

This episode was originally posted on May 15, 2020. As Ukrainians fight to preserve their freedom from Putin's invading Russian army, we're revisiting a classic interview from Hold These Truths with one of the foremost experts on Russia today: former Ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, Jr. He took us inside the mind of Vladimir Putin, how he re-shaped the worldview and psyche of Russians during his three decades in power, and we examined the disinformation campaign surrounding Michael Flynn.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia from 2017 – 2019, during one of the most difficult periods in bilateral relationships since deep in the Cold War. He is the only ambassador to ever serve in both China (2009 – 2011) and Russia (2017 – 2019), as well as Singapore (1992 – 1993). He was the Governor of Utah (Jan. 2005 – Aug. 2009), served as the Chair of the Western Governors Association, and under his leadership Utah was ranked as the best managed state in America by Pew Center on the States. Follow him on Twitter at @JonHuntsman.