Silicon Curtain

Jonathan Fink
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Sep 16, 2023 • 54min

251. Anastasiya Shapochkina - Grain. Energy. Fuel. There's Nothing Russia won’t Weaponize in Order to Win

GUEST: Anastasiya Shapochkina - Founder and president of Eastern Circles, and energy industry expert. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- INTRO: Grain. Energy. Fuel. There seems to be nothing Russia won’t weaponize to achieve its imperialistic and expansionist ambitions. But are all these strategies now failing? Will Russia face a perfect storm of battlefield losses combined with losses in its hybrid economic warfare? #AnastasiyaShapochkina #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #ussr ---------- SPEAKER: Anastasiya Shapochkina is Founder and president of Eastern Circles, she has 11 years of experience in consulting and energy industry, where she worked on companies, technologies and market analysis in the renewable energy, utilities, nuclear energy, and e-mobility. She led development of international cross-industry partnership research projects on these subjects and represented business in European industrial and research associations. Anastasiya is a lecturer on geopolitics in Sciences Po Paris since 2012, focusing on the role of business in the EU-Russia relations. Anastasiya is author of articles on the geopolitics and geoeconomics in the Former Soviet Union, she has regular TV and radio appearances. Anastasiya graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, German, and European Studies Program. ---------- LINKS: https://easterncircles.com/en-about https://www.linkedin.com/in/anastasiya-shapochkina-96081b5/ https://cges.georgetown.edu/profile/anastasiya-shapochkina/ ----------
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Sep 14, 2023 • 53min

248. James Sherr - Russia’s Sovereignty is not Directly Threatened so Why is Putin Embracing Total War?

The international response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is scaling up, with the expected provisions of ATACMS and F16s, but remains inadequate to the task of achieving a full victory and often lags dangerously behind requirements, which causes the war to be more protracted, resulting in a greater loss of life on the Ukrainian side. Russia poses a serious threat to the rules-based international order, but is the West’s response insufficiently robust in defence of the values it espouses? A recent Chatham House report rang alarm bells and recommended that Western military support to Kyiv should be redoubled before it is too late. ---------- James Sherr OBE has been a senior fellow of the International Centre for Defence & Security in Tallinn since 2019. He also is an associate fellow and former head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House (2008–11). He was a member of the Social Studies Faculty of Oxford University from 1993 to 2012; a fellow of the Conflict Studies Research Centre of the UK Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 2008; and director of studies of the Royal United Services Institute (1983–85). He has published extensively on Soviet and Russian military, security, and foreign policy, as well as energy security, the Black Sea region, and Ukraine’s efforts to deal with Russia, the West, and its own domestic problems. He was awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for his services to British interests overseas. ---------- LINKS: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/how-end-russias-war-ukraine ----------
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Sep 13, 2023 • 56min

247. Dr Jade McGlynn - The Kremlin sees Historical Memory as Potent, Malleable, Controllable & Dangerous.

GUEST: Dr Jade McGlynn - Russia specialist, researcher and author. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- INTRO: In just a few years, Russia has moved from a narrative about ‘brotherly peoples’, to genocidal rhetoric and actions in Ukraine. How was historical memory manipulated to make this happen? #jademcglynn #russiaswar #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #ussr ---------- SPEAKER: Dr Jade McGlynn is a Russia specialist and experienced researcher. She is Senior Research Associate (Non-Resident) at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. She is also a Research Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Jade is a Polyglot political analyst with experience of living and working in several European countries. She has a PhD in Russian from the University of Oxford, with academic fellowships from Leverhulme, AHRC, Marie Curie, and Carnegie and has held positions in Russia, the UK, and US. She is the author of scholarly works as well as media articles and has a new book coming out in March 2023 – Russia’s War and Memory Makers. ---------- LINKS: https://jademcglynn.com/ https://twitter.com/DrJadeMcGlynn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jade-mcglynn-341357209/ https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ceelbas/jade-mcglynn-oxford https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/dr-jade-mcglynn https://www.csis.org/people/jade-mcglynn ---------- BOOKS: Memory Makers: The Politics of the Past in Putin's Russia (2023) Russia's War (2023) Rethinking Period Boundaries: New Approaches to Continuity and Discontinuity in Modern European History and Culture (2022)
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Sep 13, 2023 • 59min

245. Dr Allyson Edwards - The Red Fortress Returns - Militarisation of Youth and Manipulation of History.

GUEST: Dr Allyson Edwards - Lecturer and expert in Russian militarism and patriotic education. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- INTRO: In today’s interview we are exploring the militarisation of youth and manipulation of history with Allyson Edwards. This is an incredibly important issue, as rather than seeking a way out of is disastrous and brutal war in Ukraine, Russia seems to be doubling down, and preparing its people for future conflicts through patriotic education – for a society built on eternal warfare and confrontation. #allysonedwards #militarisation #youtharmy #indocrtrination #militarism #radicalisation #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #ussr #conscription ---------- SPEAKER: Dr Allyson Edwards is a Lecturer at Bath Spa University and expert in Russian militarism, youth, memory & patriotic education. Specifically, she researches militarism in Post-Soviet Russia. She is currently working on turning her thesis into book, and her research interests include militarism, cultural Militarisation in Russia and Eurasia, the Cold War, as well as the commemoration and use of memory in politics and educational spaces. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/AllysonEdwards1 https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/our-people/allyson-edwards/ https://www.fpri.org/contributor/allyson-edwards/ https://ridl.io/auth/allyson-edwards/
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Sep 12, 2023 • 23min

Silicon Bites - #17 - Comrade Musk Apparently Intervenes in Favour Russia - will he Prolong the War?

Edition No17 | 08-09-2023 Is Elon Musk collaborating with Russia, and have his actions given then an advantage in the war? ~~~~~ NEWS LINKS: Kyiv Independent https://kyivindependent.com/ https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-russia-moving-troops-to-southern-front-line-to-strengthen-defense-kyiv-says/ The Moscow Times https://www.themoscowtimes.com/ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/08/drones-target-russian-microchip-plant-reports-a82397 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/08/vote-fraud-reported-as-russian-local-regional-elections-get-underway-a82399 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/07/advocating-for-war-is-wrong-russian-teachers-resign-over-refusal-to-allow-ukraine-veterans-in-class-a82388 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/07/russia-pressures-migrant-workers-with-raids-military-summons-a82303 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/05/the-wests-reliance-on-russian-nuclear-fuel-funds-moscows-war-a82356 Russian Media Monitor https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews
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Sep 12, 2023 • 50min

244. Grigor Atanesian - Putin Believes the Digital Information Space is a Battlefield - That We're at war

GUEST: Grigor Atanesian - investigative journalist at the BBC. ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- INTRO: Vladimir Putin believes that the digital information space is a battlefield, yet we in the West are perhaps late to realise that fact. The rise of the internet in the 21st century has been accompanied by unprecedented levels of polarisation, division, and coercion. At the same time democracies are being hit by a huge range of different, and rapidly evolving hostile state activities. Not all of them have their origins in Russia, though clearly many do, and the scale of the threat is only likely to increase in future. #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #ussr ---------- SPEAKER: Grigor Atanesian is an investigative journalist with the BBC. He was producer for the “Trauma Zone” documentary series by Adam Curtis (BBC Film), and the Associate Producer for “Can't Get You Out of My Head” documentary series by Adam Curtis (BBC Film). As part of the team that created the unique and powerful 'Trauma Zone' BBC documentary, he was awarded a BAFTA for Specialist Factual programmes in 2023. ---------- LINKS: Putin’s Influencers: The bloggers selling Russia’s War - BBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_8tYjsFKFw Russian pro-war influencers are generating big advertising revenues from their social media coverage of the conflict, the BBC’s Global Disinformation Team has found. Known in Russia as “Z Bloggers”, they spread fake news about the war by embedding with military units, sharing exclusive footage from the frontline, and calling upon young Russians to enlist in the army. Graphics: Kako Abraham Film Editor: Ismail Guluev Narrator: Jack Goodman Assistant Producers: Sucheera Maguire, Jake Tacchi Editor: Juliana Gragnani Executive Editor: Rebecca Skippage Written & Produced by: Grigor Atanesian ----------
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Sep 5, 2023 • 52min

173. Svitlana Biedarieva - Documentation of War in Ukrainian Art - Decolonisation and Ukrainian Identity.

SPEAKER: Today I’m speaking with Dr Svitlana Biedarieva is an award-winning art historian, artist, and curator. She has conducted research on Ukraine's decolonization, as well as the documentation of the war in Ukrainian art. Her recent edited books include Contemporary Ukrainian and Baltic Art: Political and Social Perspectives, 1991-2021 and At the Front Line. Ukrainian Art, 2013-2019 (co-edited with Hanna Deikun). She received her PhD in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. ---------- LINKS: https://svitlanabiedarieva.com/ https://twitter.com/SBiedarieva https://www.linkedin.com/in/svitlana-biedarieva-55828b45/ https://post.moma.org/decolonization-and-disentanglement-in-ukrainian-art/ ---------- LIST OF WORKS AND ARTISTS: Dana Kavelina 1-2. Letter to a Turtledove, 2020. 3-4. From the series Communications. Exit to the Blind Spot, 2019. Vlada Ralko 5-6. From the series Kyiv Diary, 2013-2014. 7. Demarcation Line, 2018. 8-10. From the series Lviv Diary, 2022. Zhanna Kadyrova 11-12. Palianytsia, 2022. 13. From the series Behind the Fence, 2014. 14. Data Extraction. Irpin, 2022. Kateryna Lysovenko 15. Untitled, 2022. 16. Propaganda of The World of My Dreams. The Last Day of The Last Totalitarianism, 2022. 17. Being Under Knowledge, 2022. 18. Woman and Death, 2022. Svitlana Biedarieva 19-20. From the series The Morphology of War, 2017. Alevtina Kakhidze 21-22. From the series Through the War with Strawberry Andreevna, 2014-2019. 23. Russian Culture is Looking for an Alibi that It Is Not a Killer, 2022. 24. Bucha. Me. 42 Minutes by Car, 2022. Maria Kulikovska 25. 254”, 2015. 26. Stardust, 2018. 27. The Forgotten (Recreation of Homo Bulla destroyed by DPR in 2014), 2019. ---------- WATCH NEXT: Orest Zub https://youtu.be/A7MrcwdDvPQ Aliona Hlivco https://youtu.be/yGLUBCfTkD8 Olga Tokariuk https://youtu.be/D5onDse6WJs Anna Danylchuk https://youtu.be/5AenntkSxIs Roman Sheremeta https://youtu.be/olrTPku8EMM
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Sep 5, 2023 • 19min

225. Noel Tock - Animal Rescuer at NOR DOG - Helping Animals that lost Everything during the Ukraine War.

See more of Noel in the Silicon Curtain video recorded in Lviv: PANEL 1 (11:00-12:00) – Volunteer Society ---------- SPEAKERS: Volunteering on a massive scale proved what is possible to achieve. Ukrainian volunteers play at integral role in resisting agains the Russian aggression and saving lives. Noel Tock - Animal Rescuer at NOR DOG Johnny FD - YouTuber and Digital Nomad Brooks Newmark - Founder of Angels for Ukraine ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: NOR DOG Animal Rescue - Our mission is to help the animals suffering from the war in Ukraine. https://www.youtube.com/@nordoganimalrescue3564 Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org ---------- WATCH NEXT: Johnny FD https://youtu.be/9KgJAsIWe5E Brooks Newmark https://youtu.be/J1BnzTdF3Ts
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Sep 2, 2023 • 50min

235. Olha Honchar - Russia has Failed to Acknowledge the Crimes of its Imperialistic Totalitarian History

Russia’s war against Ukraine has escalated significantly this year, but did not start in February last year, or even in 2014. Its roots are far deeper, and more malign than just territorial ambitions. Today I am exploring how tyranny left unchallenged with continue to fester and project aggression towards its neighbours. Russia’s attempts to dominate Ukraine have deep roots in its Soviet and imperialist past and are very much a result of the failure to acknowledge the crimes of its totalitarian history. ---------- Olha Honchar is CEO of the “Museum Crisis Centre” initiative, which arose in the first days of the Russian war against Ukraine. Co-founder of the NGO “New Museum” and the Charitable Organization “Cultural Heritage Fund of Ukraine”. Olha is a culturologist, anti-crisis manager and Director of the Memorial Museum of totalitarian regimes “Territory of Terror” in Lviv. Ahe is an internationally recognised curator of interdisciplinary projects in the field of historical memory and trauma. ---------- LINKS: https://museumterror.com/en/publications_category/all/ https://www.instagram.com/honchar_o/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/olha-honchar-b7b63374/ https://bookforum.ua/en/participants/13271 ---------- ARTICLES: https://trafo.hypotheses.org/39379 https://www.frieze.com/article/olha-honchar-ukraine-dossier-232 https://uacrisis.org/en/62144-olha-honchar https://atmos.earth/ukraine-war-culture-art-musem-loss-destruction/ https://www.csmonitor.com/Daily/2022/20220314/Art-and-the-telling-of-Ukraine-s-story https://tvoemisto.tv/en/exclusive/we_want_to_survive_not_starve_to_death_and_preserve_the_museum_exhibits_137772.html https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/ukraines-war-museums-are-documenting-history-as-it-happens/ https://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/kultur/krieg-in-der-ukraine-schutz-von-kulturguetern-gibt-es-fuer-ukrainische-kunstschaetze-asyl-in-schweizer-museen-ld.2272530 https://hyperallergic.com/719347/this-group-is-helping-museum-workers-in-ukraine/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/ukrainians-in-race-to-save-a-nations-cultural-heritage https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/arts/design/ukraine-museums-art-protection.html https://artreview.com/art-workers-at-war-how-the-ukrainian-artworld-has-rallied-to-protect-cultural-heritage/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fD--hKZPjQ ----------
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Aug 31, 2023 • 49min

242. Kateryna Busol - Getting Justice and Restitution for Russian War Crimes is Important Part of Victory

GUEST: Kateryna Busol - Ukrainian lawyer, Senior lecturer and Robert Bosch Stiftung fellow at Chatham House. ---------- Calls to treat as legitimate the ‘security concerns’ raised by Russia, and to account for these in a future settlement of the war in Ukraine, disregard the fact that Moscow’s requirements are fundamentally incompatible with European security. Proponents of a settlement in the war on Ukraine often put forward the idea that Russian ‘security concerns’ must be taken into account in any such settlement, but also in broader revisions to the European security system. These proposals echo the Russian information campaign over the past 30 years to persuade European publics that there can be ‘no security in Europe without Russia’. They provide false support to the argument that Western security policy after the collapse of the USSR unnecessarily encroached on core Russian interests by expanding NATO and forcing Moscow to militarize its foreign policy. In this telling, Russia was merely challenging what it viewed as an unjust European security order. ---------- SPEAKER: Kateryna Busol is a Ukrainian lawyer. She is a senior lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and a fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Kateryna has worked on various issues relating to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, with a particular focus on the weaponization of cultural heritage, conflict-related sexual violence, reparations, and Ukraine’s transitional justice process. She has worked with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, UN Women, the Global Survivors Fund and Global Rights Compliance. Kateryna has collaborated with Ukrainian NGOs such as the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and Truth Hounds and has advised Ukrainian prosecutors and judges on war-related proceedings. She was a visiting researcher at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, a Robert Bosch Stiftung fellow at Chatham House, and a visiting professional at the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. ---------- LINKS: https://www.biicl.org/people/kateryna-busol https://www.ukma.edu.ua/eng/index.php/studies/departments/faculty-of-law/international-law/staff/61-dr-kateryna-busol https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateryna-busol-68b4271a9/ https://twitter.com/KaterynaBusol ---------- SUMMARY: Moscow’s war of reconquest against Ukraine has confirmed in the most brutal terms how Russia rejects the values underpinning European security – the same values agreed between Moscow and the West at the end of the Cold War. As a revisionist power, Russia has made itself the primary obstacle to peace and security in Europe and beyond. For stability to be restored and protected, it is essential that the outcome of the war in Ukraine leads to a situation in which – in addition to the expulsion of occupying forces – the exercise of Russian power is contained rather than encouraged. Over time, Russia’s leadership must also be persuaded to renounce its expansionist ambitions. It’s now or never for Ukraine. A protracted or frozen conflict benefits Russia and hurts Ukraine, as does a ceasefire or negotiated settlement on Russia’s terms. If Ukraine is to avoid these outcomes and turn tenacious defence and incremental battlefield gains into outright victory, it needs far more ambitious international military assistance than it has received to date. This report presents the case for an immediate and decisive increase in such support, seeks to dispel overhyped concerns about provoking Russia, and counsels against accommodating Moscow’s demands. ---------- #katerynabusol #chathamhouse #ukraine #ukrainewar #russia #zelensky #putin #propaganda #war #disinformation #hybridwarfare #foreignpolicy #communism #sovietunion #postsoviet ----------

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