Silicon Curtain

Protests in Russia have not happened on any great scale against the war,  compared to the dissent seen in Belarus a few years ago, and of course  to ferocity of the various Ukrainian revolutions. But protest and  dissent from within the Russia elite, political and diplomatic  establishment or from amongst the Siloviki is even more of a rarity. My  guest today is one of the few exceptions.    Boris Bondarev is a former Russian diplomat who worked for the Russian  permanent mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2019 until  his resignation in May 2022 in protest over the Russian invasion of  Ukraine. He has a unique insight into the Russian diplomatic service and  the workings of the Russian delegation at the UN and how it relates  back to the centre, in Moscow.

Russian’s assault on Ukraine in 2022 presents the most serious  geopolitical crisis since the Second World War, and the nuclear  posturing and threats by Russia are unprecedented in human history. But  even before, through 2021 the ratcheting up of internal repression and  persecution of opposition figures in Russia had created a foreboding  sense of crisis and escalation. In today’s episode we’ll look at how the  secret state apparatus is being used in wartime, and how this differs  from the 2000s, the 1990s and even the Soviet period. Who are the  Siloviki, and how do they suppress dissent in Russia?  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.

Denis Zakharov - "When I say that every russian is responsible, I mean  it. But we are not responsible just for Ukraine. For ages, we commit  crimes and make people suffer for a bullshit idea of a great Russia that  doesn't even exist. Chechnya is one of the victims."  The narratives that come out of the Kremlin and Russian State TV are  aggressive, paranoid, and highly toxic. But it’s easy to forget that not  all Russian hold these views. Some do – many don’t but won’t actively  challenge what they are being told. But a few are angry and fighting  back. Today I speak with one of those strong and active voices  condemning the crimes and horrors being committed.    Denis Zakharov is an activist and has a strong, unusually direct and  opinion voice within opposition movement, but I’ll let him introduce  himself to you.

The world of reporting from the former Soviet sphere has been turned on  its head. No longer do journalists based in Moscow report on the affairs  of the regions. Kyiv is now the ground zero of narratives emerging from  the region, and a Moscow-centric lens has shifted to become a Ukrainian  lens for the Western media. There are now relatively few Western voices  on the ground in Russia. So how can the media remain objective and  avoid the bias that comes from lack of first-hand reporting.    James Rodgers is an Associate Professor in International Journalism and  Assistant Vice-President of Global Engagement at City, University of  London. He is an academic, veteran journalist, and author of the  fascinating book “Assignment Moscow – Reporting on Russia from Lenin to  Putin.” He has also written incisively about reporting on the  Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and is an expert on the reporting of armed  conflict, and journalism in history. He is also widely published in  online and print publications, and academic journals, including NBC  Think, History Today, The New European, and The British Journalism  Review.

Instead of what he thought would be a ‘short victorious war’, Putin has  mired Russia in a protracted and costly struggle that may not only end  Putin’s tenure in the Kremlin, but also threaten the integrity of the  Russian Federation itself. The stakes could not be higher, and history  shows that change in Russia moves like tectonic plates – nothing for  decades, and then pent up forces are released in violent, dramatic and  unpredictable changes. Some academics and politicians are starting to  think the unthinkable and are urging us make plans to de-colonise Russia  when the last continental European empire collapses. History may show  that the disintegration of the USSR was not avoided, merely postponed.   Vasilina Orlova, Ph.D. is a Researcher, Anthropologist and Writer. She  is a Scholar and Researcher at The University of Texas at Austin.  Vasilina describes herself as an engaged storyteller, who began writing  in English late in life, enchanted by the sound of the language and its  supreme power. She has conducted extended periods of fieldwork in  Siberia, in Irkutsk District and has a deep interest in Russian  colonialism. She is an award-winning writer, and author of more than ten  books in Russian and English, which have in turn been translated into  numerous other languages.

Vladimir Putin seems to have thought the ‘regime’ in Kyiv could be  toppled in 10 days through a blitzkrieg operation carried out from  Russian and Byelorussia territory. But instead, he has made the  political situation in Russia more fragile and volatile than at any time  since the 1990s. Could Putin’s aggressive expansionist policies in  Ukraine actually signal the disintegration of Europe’s last empire?   Anton Shekhovtsov is a Ukrainian political scientist, academic and  writer. He is known for writing about the European radical right and in  particular its connections to Russia. Shekhovtsov was born in Sevastopol  and studied at the Sevastopol National Technical University.  Anton has  worked as visiting fellow researcher at the University of Northampton,  as part of the Radicalism and New Media Research Group. He then went on  to complete a PhD in Slavonic and East European studies at University  College London. He is the editor of the Explorations of the Far-Right  book series and sits on the board of the open-source Fascism: Journal of  Comparative Fascist Studies. Anton’s works have been featured in  OpenDemocracy, Chatham House, Foreign Affairs, the Carnegie Council for  Ethics in International Affairs, and the Aspen Institute.

Edition No3  |  15-02-2023 NAFO special edition  ~~~~~   FEATURED ARTICLES:  https://www.kyivpost.com/post/204  https://news.sky.com/story/amp/ukraines-internet-army-of-fellas-are-using-dog-memes-to-fight-russian-propaganda-and-theyve-raised-1m-for-the-army-too-12729625  https://amp.dw.com/en/nafo-ukraines-info-warriors-battling-russian-trolls/a-63124443  https://emerging-europe.com/voices/why-decentralisation-is-nafos-greatest-strength/  https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/lessons-from-the-meme-war-in-ukraine/  ~~~~~   NEWS LINKS:  Moscow Times  Russia Places Leading Buryat Activist On Wanted List  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/10/russia-places-leading-buryat-activist-on-wanted-list-a80200  As Russia's Losses in Ukraine Spike, Those Tracking the Deaths Are Overwhelmed  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/10/as-russias-losses-in-ukraine-spike-those-tracking-the-deaths-are-overwhelmed-a80173  Amid Ukraine War, Kremlin Orders Nationwide Bomb Shelter Overhaul  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/06/amid-ukraine-war-kremlin-orders-nationwide-bomb-shelter-overhaul-a80085  Russia Weighs Wartime Tax Increase - Report  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/08/russia-weighs-wartime-tax-increase-report-a80172   The Guardian  Large-scale Russian missile attacks 'reconnaissance' for future offensive  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/10/wave-of-russian-missile-attacks-on-ukraine-reconnaissance-for-future-offensive  Fury in Ukraine as Elon Musk's SpaceX limits Starlink use for drones  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/09/zelenskiy-aide-takes-aim-at-curbs-on-ukraine-use-of-starlink-to-pilot-drones-elon-musk  Moldovan PM resigns blaming 'crises caused by Russian aggression'  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/10/moldovan-pm-natalia-gavrilita-resigns-blaming-crises-caused-by-russian-aggression  Each day, President Zelenskiy reads my book on military history. I hope he heeds these warnings  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/10/president-zelenskiy-book-military-history-ukraine-war-putin   Economist  Russia's technocrats keep funds flowing for Vladimir Putin's war. The economy is slowly being repurposed.  https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/02/04/russias-technocrats-keep-funds-flowing-for-vladimir-putins-war  Why the West's oil sanctions on Russia are proving to be underwhelming.  Another embargo comes into force on February 5th. Manage your  expectations. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/02/01/why-the-wests-oil-sanctions-on-russia-are-proving-to-be-underwhelming  ~~~~~   USEFUL LINKS:  Vatnik Soup  https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi   Real World News  https://kyivindependent.com/  https://www.kyivpost.com/  https://english.nv.ua/  https://www.themoscowtimes.com/  https://meduza.io/en  https://meduza.io/  https://novayagazeta.eu/  https://www.newsweek.com/topic/russia-ukraine-war   Analysis  https://www.ft.com/russia https://www.economist.com/ https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ https://cepa.org/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/ https://www.theatlantic.com/search/?search-sort=newestToOldest&q=russia  YouTube Channels https://www.youtube.com/@TimesRadio1 https://www.youtube.com/@khodorkovskyru https://www.youtube.com/@Popularpolitics https://www.youtube.com/@MackNack https://www.youtube.com/@plushev https://www.youtube.com/@tvrain https://www.youtube.com/@Fake_News https://www.youtube.com/@FeyginLive ~~~~~

The Putin regime has been widely exploiting the vulnerabilities of  global social media platforms, using bots and trolls to promote specific  stories and narratives. Now there seems to be an increase in their  activity of trolls, agents, fellow travellers, useful idiots and  grifters who post lies and distortions online in support of Kremlin  narratives. Is this uptick in activity real, and what is it’s strategic  purpose?     Pekka Kallioniemi has a PhD in interactive technology and is an expert  on social media platforms, algorithms, and disinformation. He is a #NAFO activist, and runs a series on Kremlin assets, agents, and oligarchs, called #vatnik soup. There are now 70 entries, and it’s some of these that we’ll be discussing today.    LINKS:  https://vatniksoup.com/  https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi

***** Please note, the sound quality is not great because of an echo. I  hope the quality of the content means that you'll persevere! *****  ----------   Russia used energy as an economic weapon against Ukraine in 2007. But it  seems that it has now fully played the gas and oil cards, and Russia is  losing the energy war. Has Vladimir Putin’s winter gas attack  backfired, as Moscow has been frozen out of lucrative European energy  markets? Or will the terroristic threats against nuclear facilities  re-emerge if Russia starts to lose badly on the battlefield?   ----------  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.

Today I am speaking with a rare and special person – a Russian activist  with an unambiguous, strong voice condemning the crimes and horrors  being committed in Ukraine by Russia, and who is doing it with humour  and passion. It has to be said, that he’s also taking on considerable  risk in doing so. Fortunately, he’s also doing this in English, so you  can follow his views on Twitter and Telegram.      Denis Zakharov is an activist and has a strong, unusually direct, and  outspoken voice within opposition movement. Somehow, although he lives  in Russia, is still free, un-conscripted, vocal, and angry.   LINKS: https://twitter.com/betelgeuse1922