803. Why Did Journalists Align with Russia's Regime and War of Aggression?

Andrei Soldatov is a Russian investigative journalist and security services expert. Together with fellow journalist Irina Borogan he is co-founder of Agentura.Ru – a watchdog of the Russian secret services’ activities. He’s been covering security services and terrorism issues since 1999. Together with Irina Borogan Andrei has co-authored three books: The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia’s Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB (2010), The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia’s Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries (2015) and The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia's Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad (2019). Until 2008 Andrei Soldatov wrote for Novaya Gazeta, but has since written for many other publications. He is a Visiting Fellow of King's College London, and Senior Fellow at CEPA, the Centre for European Policy Analysis.----------BOOKS:Our Dear Friends in Moscow — The Inside Story of a Broken Generation (2025) by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan The Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Russia's Exiles, Émigrés, and Agents Abroad (2019) by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB(2010) by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan The Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries(2015) by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasWe need to scale up our support for Ukraine, and these events are designed to have a major impact. Your support in making it happen is greatly appreciated. All events will be recorded professionally and published for free on the Silicon Curtain channel. Where possible, we will also live-stream events.https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------DESCRIPTION: Join us for an in-depth conversation with Andrei Soldatov, renowned Russian investigative journalist and co-author of "Our Dear Friends in Moscow: The Inside Story of a Broken Generation." In this episode, Andrei discusses the motivations behind his latest book, the transformation of Russian society and its elites, the role of ideology and ambition, and the chilling realities of Russia’s security state. We also explore the personal stories of those who chose to support the Kremlin, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing struggle for truth and resistance inside and outside Russia.----------CHAPTERS:00:00 - Introduction & Andrei Soldatov’s background05:34 - Motivations for writing the book11:08 - Russian elite support for the war16:42 - Interviewing former friends and risks22:16 - Ideology, ambition, and the path to power27:50 - The KGB’s legacy and family histories33:24 - Journalism, compromise, and repression38:58 - The digital gulag and new restrictions44:32 - Absence of moral values in the elite50:06 - Resistance, hope, and final thoughts----------