Silicon Curtain

Sanctions were supposed to bring the Russian war machine to its knees. Crashing the Russian economy like a house of cards within months. But this hasn’t happened. This was the largest packet of sanctions in history, so why has it failed to curtail Russia’s aggression? Are sanctions a flawed concept? And who has helped Russia to evade and mitigate the worst aspects of sanctions? I’m joined today by Timothy Ash, who has been professional economist for more than 30 years, with two thirds of that in the banking industry. Timothy’s specialism is emerging European economics, and he writes and blogs extensively on economic challenges for leading publications such as the Kyiv Post, Atlantic Council, the Financial Times, and the United Business Journal. He is also an Associate Fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House and has advised various governments on Ukraine-Russia policy and specifically on the impact of sanctions.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just about territory and resources, though they play a part. It’s also a struggle to control historical memory. Russia seeks to simplify history writing, teaching, and mythology down to a few selective narratives that support its current political structure and imperial revanchism. Ukrainian history is complex, messy and offers an alternative take on Russian and Soviet mythology and undermines its propaganda. Ukraine’s struggle is one for identify, culture, language and even survival, but its also a struggle to retain the right to question and reshape historical narratives and tell alternative stories that don’t fit neatly into an imperial Russian worldview. Mariia Kravchenko is Program Coordinator for the Fulbright Program in Ukraine and a former Junior Researcher at the World History Institute, NANU. Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the oldest and most prestigious international program for the exchange of scholars and students funded by the United States government. Today it supports academic exchanges with 155 countries of the world.

Putin expected Ukraine to roll over in days when he launched the full-scale war in February 2022. But this was a tragic misreading of the Ukraine people, because they were prepared to fight for their independence and liberty. The ‘Russian World’ concept did not have the attractions that Putin and his acolytes seemed to believe. Instead of a small victorious war, Russia has become entangled in a quagmire that has now claimed more Russian lives than 10 years of war in Afghanistan. As it looks ever more likely that Ukraine will emerge victorious, albeit paying a terrible price for that, Russia’s future is far less certain. In this episode we explore what language can tell us about the strategic miscalculations of the Russians, the declining impact of propaganda, and the resilience of Ukrainians. Ksenia Turkova is a journalist and a linguist with a Ph.D. in philology (language and literature). She has both Russian and Ukrainian backgrounds and has worked in both countries for private as well as independent media. Her specialist area of research is studying media texts and propaganda. Ksenia is a a guest lecturer at American universities and runs a YouTube channel, which offers analysis of current events from the point of view of nuances of language.

Today I’m speaking with Anders Åslund, and it’s something of a milestone for the channel. I interviewed Anders over 7 months ago, and he was the first guest on the Podcast. Having now done more than 60 interviews with Western, Ukrainian, and Russian experts, I’m delighted to welcome him back to the channel to explore what has happened since then, and what Putin’s endgame might be. ---------- GUEST: Anders Åslund, academic, diplomat and author.1

Putin was moulded in the KGB, weaned on espionage, counterintelligence, Active Measures, insurgency, and counter insurgency. It is no wonder that his world view oozes paranoia, and that he has no belief in democracy as a system, or the idea of organic, bottom-up revolutions. The war in Ukraine has shone a harsh light on an area of research that is undergoing a renaissance: counterinsurgency strategic studies. Today I’m talking to David H. Ucko to understand this murky world of insurgency better, what are the emerging trends, and how it can be weaponised by adversarial states and even bad actors within a society. ---------- GUEST: David H. Ucko, academic and author.

Never has it been more important to get accurate and unbiased information. Especially in time of war, and when information has been weaponised by Russian propaganda, amplified through Social Media platforms. Today I am discussing the issues of reporting news in wartime with Alina Poliakova. Alina Poliakova is Managing Editor of the English version of Ukrainska Pravda. Ukrainska Pravda is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000. Published mainly in Ukrainian with selected articles published in or translated to Russian and English, the newspaper is tailored for a general readership with an emphasis on the politics of Ukraine.

The last 6 months or so has seen a vicious war of attrition unfold in towns like Ugledar, Soledar and Bakhmut. But this should not be interpreted as a stalemate, as those struggles seems to have degraded the quantity of functional Russian equipment and depleted their fighting manpower. Will the much-vaunted spring offensive and defeat of its forces in 2023 finally bring an end to Russia’s genocidal and pointless war against its neighbour? And how fragile would Russia’s autocratic, propaganda-controlled system actually be after a major humiliation on the battlefield? Today I’m speaking with Anders Puck Nielsen, influential YouTuber, and military analyst, based in Denmark. He specialises in naval warfare and strategy, but in today’s video we are going to be talking much more about the ground campaign in Ukraine.

Perhaps the most perverse Russian invasion narrative, is that Ukraine is not old, and is not distinct from Russia in any case. But Ukraine is not just a footnote to Russian imperial history. As a nation, it is old, different, and diverse. Just as it went unrecognised by Russia, it has not been understood or recognised by the outside world either, for a variety of reasons. 100 years ago, nobody cared about Ukraine – or its disappearance as an independent state; but that has now changed. Putin’s tyranny and violence have accelerated the evolution of Ukrainian identity and increased the pressure for social, political, and economic change. ---------- SPEAKER: Volodymyr Yermolenko (Володимир Анатолійович Єрмоленко) is a Ukrainian philosopher, essayist, translator, Doctor of Political Studies, candidate of philosophical sciences, and senior lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He is laureate of the Yuri Shevelyov Prize (2018) and of the Petro Mohyla Award (2021). Yermolenko was born Kyiv to a family of philosophers. His father, Anatoly Mykolayovych Yermolenko, was director of the Institute of Philosophy. His mother taught philosophy at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. In 2020, together with Tetyana Oharkova, Yermolenko started the Kult podcast, dedicated to defining epochs in the history of culture and cult authors who had a great influence on the development of literature and culture. Is also a prolific podcaster on the Ukraine World channel, with his compelling ‘Explaining Ukraine’ series of interviews. Links below. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/yermolenko_v https://www.linkedin.com/in/volodymyr-yermolenko-bb0b0b11/ https://twitter.com/ukraine_world https://twitter.com/PENUkraine https://twitter.com/InternewsUA ---------- BOOKS: Ukraine in Histories and Stories: Essays by Ukrainian Intellectuals by Volodymyr Yermolenko (Editor) ----------

Even for avid supporters of Ukraine, like me, Ukrainian literature remains and undiscovered country. Today I’m speaking with Maria Shuvalova who can guide on a journey of discovery, to engage with Ukrainian culture and identity. Ukrainian literature has a strong tradition of folk tales and oral poetry, and it has been influenced by the country's complex political and cultural history, including periods of colonization and national struggle. Russian literature, on the other hand, has been shaped by its own distinct history, including periods of imperial expansion and revolutionary upheaval. Ukrainian writers were persecuted in the 1920s during the period of Soviet rule in Ukraine, as part of a process to suppress Ukrainian national identity and culture and replace it with a new Soviet identity; literature was a key tool for this, as it is also for Russia today. Maria Shuvalova is a Doctoral Candidate at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy. In 2019-2020 she was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University in New York. Her major fields of specialization are comparative literature and contemporary Ukrainian Literature, and minor fields are Identity and Memory Studies and Translation. She is also prominent in the media on topics of Ukrainian culture, and talks eloquently about Russian cultural colonialism, and the efforts to decolonise literature and Ukrainian studies. ~~~~~ LINKS: Mariia Shuvalova, First Go Novels That Go Tanks in Russia’s War in Ukraine 2022 Personal Experiences of Ukrainian Scholars https://cup.columbia.edu/book/russias-war-in-ukraine-2022/9783838217574 An Excerpt From Sergei Loiko’s ‘Airport’ https://odessareview.com/excerpt-sergei-loikos-airport/ Apricots of Donbas by Liuba Yakymchuk https://www.amazon.com/Apricots-Donbass-Lyuba-Yakimchuk/dp/1736432311/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1A8HTVDMQH4XO&keywords=Apricots+of+Donbas+by+Liuba+Yakymchuk&qid=1683536071&sprefix=apricots+of+donbas+by+liuba+yakymchuk%2Caps%2C322&sr=8-1   Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine https://www.amazon.com/Words-War-Ukraine-Ukrainian-Studies/dp/1618118617/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZRP62YKTVQ29&keywords=Words+for+War%3A+New+Poems+from+Ukraine&qid=1683536107&sprefix=words+for+war+new+poems+from+ukraine+%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1   Absolute Zero by Artem Chekh https://www.amazon.com/Absolute-Zero-Artem-Chekh-ebook/dp/B09QGZ36SY/ref=sr_1_4?crid=A49GLG6F22FM&keywords=Absolute+Zero&qid=1683536153&s=digital-text&sprefix=absolute+zero+%2Cdigital-text%2C515&sr=1-4   In Isolation by Stanislav Aseyev https://www.amazon.com/Isolation-Dispatches-Occupied-Ukrainian-literature-ebook/dp/B09VCQD5YJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CUL2D5GG2NFT&keywords=In+Isolation+by+Stanislav+Aseyev&qid=1683536217&s=digital-text&sprefix=in+isolation+by+stanislav+aseyev%2Cdigital-text%2C178&sr=1-1   Daughter by Tamara Duda https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Tamara-Duda-ebook/dp/B0BNKFBKDZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3DIHSHF97CKEZ&keywords=Daughter+Tamara+duda&qid=1683536250&s=digital-text&sprefix=daughter+tamara+duda%2Cdigital-text%2C179&sr=1-1   The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister by Olesya Khromeychuk https://www.olesyakhromeychuk.com/publications/the-death-of-a-soldier-told-by-his-sister   Dignitas foundation - https://www.linkedin.com/company/dignitas-ukraine/ ~~~~~

NATO members and other western countries have stepped up the supply of weapons to Ukraine. The UK pledged 14 Challenger 2 tanks, the US 31 Abrams tanks, and Germany dispatched 14 Leopard 2 tanks, with more to follow. Other countries are sending anti-tank and anti-air systems, artillery pieces, drones, armoured vehicles, and tanks. Modern, sophisticated weapons are key to the success of Ukraine’s spring counter-offensive, but all this different equipment made in many countries brings challenges. Ukrainian troops need to learn to operate the new equipment and need supplies and replacement parts. To try to overcome the identification challenge, the US has issued Ukrainians with a deck of 52 playing cards of various pieces of hardware to help minimise “friendly fire” incidents. ---------- SPEAKER: Today I’m speaking with Ryan McBeth, influential YouTuber, Author, triathlete, Army veteran and programmer. Ryan makes educational and OSINT videos, that look at the war in Ukraine from a military perspective. Today we’ll be talking about the two side’s strategies in the war, tactics, equipment, morale, and training. ---------- LINKS: https://www.youtube.com/@RyanMcBethProgramming https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-us-issues-nato-weapons-playing-cards-to-help-ukraine-avoid-friendly-fire-202912 ----------