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Silicon Curtain

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Dec 7, 2024 • 57min

564. Lesia Dubeno - Putin's Overseas Adventures in Ruins - Is Russia Suffering from Disasterous Overreach

See the full conversation on iWi channel - https://youtu.be/1aOGBQv2j2M https://www.youtube.com/@infowarfarechannel/featured ---------- Lesia Dubenko is a Ukrainian journalist and analyst featured in the Financial Times, Politico Europe, New Eastern Europe, Washington Times, and more. She’s currently affiliated with Ukraine’s media outlet Euromaidan Press. You can follow her on Substack for a dose of good and satirical commentary https://lesiadubenko.substack.com ---------- LINKS https://x.com/lesialvd https://lesiadubenko.substack.com/ https://archive.kyivpost.com/author/lesia-dubenko https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesiadubenko/ https://euromaidanpress.com/author/lesiadubenko/ ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Dec 7, 2024 • 19min

Silicon Bites #67 - Mr Carlson Comes to Moscow to Amplify The Kremlin's Nuclear Terroristic Threats.

Edition No67 | 06-12-2024 - Love him or loath him, Tucker Carlson has a knack for sucking the oxygen out of the information space. He creates friction, he generates headlines, he grabs attention. “Nothing is what it seems” is the apparent philosophy behind his media persona. He is just asking the ‘difficult questions’ that nobody else wants to ask. Looking for alternative ideas and uncovering the deep state conspiracies that manipulate us and ruin our lives. The trouble is the overall framing of his work is deeply imbued with highly partisan and propagandistic narratives. He has a purpose, and it is itself deeply manipulative and aligned with oligarchic money interests. No wonder the Kremlin and Russian state TV love him. No wonder he has been called back to Moscow when they find themselves in a real pickle. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- His persona perfectly matches the strategic purpose of networks like RT, whose strapline is “question everything”. The underlying message behind much of Russian propagandistic media is – "все не так однозначно" – or “It’s really not so simple”. Stoke division, yes. Divide and conquer – of course. But fundamentally, Russian propaganda is about denying your agency. Preventing you from uniting, collaborating and organising to resist the forceful expansion of its influence and interests. It does this by eroding trust, sowing division and enmity, and fostering the nihilistic idea of informational ambiguity. There is no truth or morality – it’s all relative. My opinion is just as valid as your facts. It’s complicated. Politics makes no difference. There are always two sides of each story, and both are lies in their own ways. But lies can be equated with truth. The aggressor with the victim. It’s cynical. It’s corrosive. It’s effective. Think Doublespeak from Orwell’s 1984. Black is white. Up is down. And Russia always lies. It shouldn’t work, but it does, and increasingly this approach has power in the era of weaponised social media algorithms, fragmented media, weak institutions, disenchantment with party politics and the decline of class identities. It’s the outer clothing of a regime that does not pursue ideology or morality of any kind, but a pure projection of power and material demands. Because those material demands are in the service of a small parasitic elite, with an extraction mentality; the result is always going to be negative. They are not grasping for power as an extension of their country’s or people’s interests, but for their own benefit. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tucker-carlson-russia-moscow-interview-sergei-lavrov-putin-b2658625.html https://www.politico.eu/article/tucker-carlson-sergey-lavrov-vladimir-putin/ https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/04/tucker-carlson-interviews-russian-fm-lavrov-in-moscow-a87222 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/tucker-carlson-warns-of-wwiii-but-russias-nuclear-threats-ring-hollow/ https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1985783/ https://stevenmoore.substack.com/p/tucker-carlsons-tourism-in-russia https://uacrisis.org/en/tucker-carlson-in-moscow-again https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tymofiy-mylovanov-1a13112_lavrov-through-tucker-carlson-delivers-activity-7270765240839979009-3w1c?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ----------
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Dec 5, 2024 • 49min

563. Anna Gvarishvili - Freedom in Georgia Under Threat Following Stolen Election by Kremlin Proxy Party

Anna Gvarishvili is a journalist and editor, providing news and analysis on the drastic reversal of liberal democratic values in Georgia. She is Head of Investigative Media Lab (IML). Anna worked as Head of media production and operations at School of Social Sciences, the University of Georgia. She has eight years of experience in TV and online media. In 2020-2022 she has served as a managing editor of "Tabula". ---------- LINKS: https://x.com/annagvarishvili https://www.journalismfund.eu/journalists/anna-gvarishvili https://ug.edu.ge/en/persons/full/10727 https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-gvarishvili-463064146/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Dec 4, 2024 • 32min

562. Andriy Zagorodnyuk - Beware Ahead of Negotiations - Concessions by the West Signal Weakness to Putin

Andriy Zagorodnyuk is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and politician. From 2015 to 2017, Andriy headed the Reform Project Office at the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. He was the Minister of Defence of Ukraine from 29 August 2019 to 4 March 2020. Andriy studied law at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He also graduated from Warwick University and Oxford University and became an advisor to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky after he was elected president in the 2019. After his resignation as Defence Minister, Andriy became the Chairman of the “Centre for Defence Strategies”. The CDS is a Ukrainian security think tank involved in security studies, defence policy research and advocacy. ---------- LINKS: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/andriy-zagorodnyuk/ https://www.rusi.org/people/zagorodnyuk https://kyivindependent.com/author/andriy-zagorodnyuk/ https://www.thecipherbrief.com/experts/andriy-zagorodnyuk https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/andriy-zagorodnyuk ---------- ARTICLES: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/overcoming-challenges-building-future-force-ukraine ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Dec 3, 2024 • 1h 48min

561. Kevin Leach - The Surge Can Save Ukraine But There is Little Time Left for Sullivan to Get it Done

Kevin Leach is the main director for Sabre Training Advisory Group, a professional military training non-profit. Their aim is to give Ukrainian defenders the skills to come home alive. Kevin is a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, with a long history of working in Ukraine and in military affairs. He served as a sergeant from 2008-2018, specialising in armoured reconnaissance. He leads a weekly segment on the Mriya Report called “Come Home Alive” covering the Key Elements of Training for the Ukrainian army. ---------- LINKS: https://x.com/SabreAdvisory https://www.sabretag.org/donate https://www.instagram.com/sabre_tag/ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mriyareport/episodes/Kevin-Leach--Sabre-Advisory-Training-on-Key-Elements-of-Training---May-29--2024-e2kavap ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Dec 2, 2024 • 47min

559. Cormac Smith - Putin Will Escalate Ahead of Being Forced into Negotiations - A Violent Winter Awaits

Cormac Smith has worked in Public Relations and Corporate Communications for over three decades. In 2016 he travelled to Ukraine to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor’ to Pavlo Klimkin, then the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. He was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first foreigner to hold such a position. While in Kyiv, he also advised and provided training for five other government ministries and worked directly with three other cabinet ministers: Health, Education and the Deputy Prime Minister. ---------- LINKS: https://defencebrink.uk/ https://x.com/philipingmbe https://x.com/CormacS63 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Dec 1, 2024 • 30min

Silicon Bites #66 - Putin and Patrushev Threaten Trump with Unsubtle Warnings - What do They Expect?

Edition No66 | 01-12-2024 - It is an illusion that Putin wants the war to end. In fact, he needs the war not to end, to perpetuate his regime. There are no limits to how many Russians he will sacrifice to save his own neck, how much blood he will spill to save the 10.5 pints in his own body. He is quite prepared to burn all of Russia’s economy and resources, for as long as that keep him in power. So, the determination of President-elect Donald Trump to achieve a settlement of the war, any deal in fact, so he can boast to his supporters that he delivered on campaign promises. As we’ve suggested in a recent episode, it would seem Putin and Trump are on a collision course. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3932396-zelensky-putin-seeks-to-escalate-so-that-trump-cant-end-war.html https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1982490/Trump-Putin-MI6-Europe-Ukraine-war https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/vladimir-putin-russian-president-donald-trump-us-president-elect-ukraine-assassination-threats-2642092-2024-11-29 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-map-live-uk-putin-nuclear-threat-b2656716.html https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/putin-sends-chilling-warning-to-trump-over-his-safety-as-he-threatens-kyiv-with-oreshnik-missile-strike-101732841021860.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cdj3kmel349t https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1982318/ww3-fears-russia-ukraine-war-latest-vladimir-putin https://kyivindependent.com/putin-threatens-to-target-decision-making-centers-in-kyiv-with-oreshnik-missile/ https://www.newsweek.com/vladimir-putin-nikolai-patrushev-donald-trump-russia-1984360 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/05/22/how-patrushevs-paranoia-consumed-the-kremlin-a85198 https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-putin-ditched-security-chief-nikolai-patrushev-conspiracy/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------
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Nov 30, 2024 • 41min

560. Philip Ingram & Cormac Smith - Trump Holds All the Cards as Putin Weakens Economically & Militarily.

Cormac Smith has worked in Public Relations and Corporate Communications for over three decades. In 2016 he travelled to Ukraine to take up a special appointment as the ‘Strategic Communication Advisor’ to Pavlo Klimkin, then the Foreign Minister of Ukraine. He was attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv but was embedded in Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first foreigner to hold such a position. While in Kyiv, he also advised and provided training for five other government ministries and worked directly with three other cabinet ministers: Health, Education and the Deputy Prime Minister. ---------- Philip Ingram is a journalist and consultant who has built on a long and senior military career as an intelligence, counterintelligence, security officer, and planner. Philip has extensive business experience, especially in steel manufacturing. He also has extensive media experience, appearing on the BBC, Sky News and Radio networks, international networks including Al Jazeera, TRT World, CNN, ABC, CBC, Japanese NTV and many others. ---------- LINKS: https://defencebrink.uk/ https://x.com/philipingmbe https://x.com/CormacS63 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Nov 29, 2024 • 60min

558. Timothy Ash - Dramatic Collapse of Rouble Weakens Russia and Terrifies Putin, Shaking his Authority.

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. ---------- LINKS: https://twitter.com/tashecon https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothy-ash-83a87158/ https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/timothy-ash https://cepa.org/author/timothy-ash/ ---------- ARTICLES: https://timothyash.substack.com/ https://kyivindependent.com/author/timothy-ash/ ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 ---------- PLATFORMS: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSilicon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siliconcurtain/ Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- Welcome to the Silicon Curtain podcast. Please like and subscribe if you like the content we produce. It will really help to increase the popularity of our content in YouTube’s algorithm. Our material is now being made available on popular podcasting platforms as well, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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Nov 28, 2024 • 15min

Silicon Bites #65 - Rouble Crashes Showing up Flaws in Putin's Fantasy Militarised Sovetised Economy

Edition No65 | 24-11-2024 - We’ve been predicting that the Russian economy would implode for going on two years, but also pointing out that Russian Central bankers may be able to preserve an impression of stability and normalcy for some considerable time. And so, it’s proved. Russia has been more adept at creating an alternative economy to replace Western exports, and indeed not all the revenue from Western markets dried up despite three nearly years of full-sale war. Grey markets, grey fleets and the fundamental shift to running a brazenly dark economy have helped Russia hugely recover from the initial economic shock of Feb-22. ---------- SILICON CURTAIN FILM FUNDRAISER A project to make a documentary film in Ukraine, to raise awareness of Ukraine's struggle and in supporting a team running aid convoys to Ukraine's frontline towns. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras ---------- Indeed, it’s the willingness of many countries, especially China and India to benefit from discounted Russian exports of hydrocarbons and raw material that has kept the cash flowing into Russia’s war machine. Many western countries have been entirely hypocritical on this, paying lip service to sanctions, but turning a blind eye as their manufactured goods continues to flow into Russia via intermediary countries neighbouring Putin’s empire. It turns out there are three key levers that can trigger crisis and even collapse in the Russian economy. And to an extent, these could have been triggered at any time over the last 3 years. - Reduce Russia’s sovereign wealth funds that maintain the war economy and currency - Work to reduce the global price of oil, hitting Russia’s grey fleet exports hard - Tighten sanction to stop the flow of goods and revenue into Kremlin war machine Russia amassed a huge sovereign wealth fund over many years of relatively frugal financial management amid soaring oil prices. It’s mind boggling to think what could have been done to improve standards of living in Russia if you combine the revenues wasted on war with the mountains of cash stolen by the kleptocratic classes. Anyway, that wealth fund – the fighting war chest – is running out. The flows of money into it from the external economy are lessening or are held in non-conventical currencies such as Rupees or Yuan. The domestic economy is flagging (and the income it generates in taxes) as is moves to more of a nationalised, militarised economy. So, the money lake is draining down. ---------- NEWS SOURCES: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/27/russias-rouble-plunges-to-lowest-rate-since-early-weeks-of-ukraine-war https://www.ft.com/content/6189fdb4-d1ef-4e0b-a7f1-e7f9a7286df5 https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/11/27/7486548/ https://timothyash.substack.com/p/the-rouble-is-melting-finally?r=ynli4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/11/27/russian-central-bank-halts-currency-buying-until-2025-as-ruble-slides-a87147 ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ 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 NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemysl https://kharpp.com/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

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