In Moscow's Shadows
Mark Galeotti
Russia, behind the headlines as well as in the shadows. This podcast is the audio counterpart to Mark Galeotti's blog of the same name, a place where "one of the most informed and provocative voices on modern Russia", can talk about Russia historical and (more often) contemporary, discuss new books and research, and sometimes talk to other Russia-watchers. If you'd like to keep the podcast coming and generally support my work, or want to ask questions or suggest topics for me to cover, do please contribute to my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/InMoscowsShadowsThe podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 8, 2021 • 22min
Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 1 January: Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu
How did Defence Minister Shoigu make it from graduating from Krasnoyarsk Poly as a construction engineer to being discussed as a potential future president? In this third cellcast of the 2020-21 Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas, I give my quick take.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials (including the other Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas, as only the cellcasts are being made generally available) right here. Support the show
Jan 4, 2021 • 20min
Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 28 December: Directorate K and the FSB's dilemma
How might a scandal from 2019 affect who runs the FSB in 2021? And should we consider levels of elite embezzlement a good index of their confidence? In this second cellcast of the 2020-21 Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas, I take a look at the agency's future.One erratum, by the way, that serves me right for trying to convert big numbers on the fly: the 120 billion rubles I mention at one point is, of course, £120 million, not £12 million...You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials (including the other Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas, as only the cellcasts are being made generally available) right here. Support the show
Jan 1, 2021 • 21min
Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 25 December: Afghan Christmas
Today in 1979, Afghanistan was waking up under Soviet domination. In this first cellcast of the 2020-21 Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas, I pull out three aspects of that conflict of relevance today.The Levada poll I mention on Navalny, by the way, is here. And if anyone is interested in my PhD on the impact of the war, the book-of-the-thesis is Afghanistan: the Soviet Union's last war (1995), and I have a book on Operation Storm-333 coming out this March from Osprey.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials (including the other Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas) right here. Support the show
Dec 22, 2020 • 36min
In Moscow's Shadows 20: Spooks: more Navalny, will the FSB change tack, and did the SVR carry out a 'cyberattack'?
More on the Navalny case, the story that keeps unfolding, following the publication of his conversation with one of his would-be killers, and a rumination on whether there will be implications for the FSB and its approach. Then, as a reminder that Russia also has competent spooks, I turn to the recently-revealed and massive hack of largely US systems. Is this really a 'cyberattack,' as so many in the US are saying, and why does this terminology matter?You can read the Navalny conversation here, and the article I mention by Soldatov and Borogan here.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Dec 15, 2020 • 25min
In Moscow's Shadows 19: The Navalny Hit (after the Bellingcat/Insider report)
An impressively detailed investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider meticulously details the Russian Federal Security Service operation against Alexei Navalny, so here is a short podcast episode devoted to this case and some implications.The report is available here, and Navalny's video on it here. My hot take in the Moscow Times is here, any my October piece about General Smirnov is here. Finally, I discussed the poisoning through the prism of 'hybrid war' in this article.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Dec 6, 2020 • 28min
In Moscow's Shadows 18: Life in the Communist Party? And Three Random Stories
Is there life in the Communist Party, and any chance of it again becoming an opposition party, maybe even in some kind of entente with Alexei Navalny? My thoughts.And in the second part, I highlight three quirky stories that caught my eye, on presidential nicknames, on misleading ratings, and on life after high politics.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Dec 1, 2020 • 20min
In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 24 November 2020: Konstantin Malofeev and his Tsargrad party - a potential threat to the Kremlin from the right?
Another short 'cellcast', going out directly to my Patrons, and to everyone else a week later.In this cellcast, recorded on 24 November, I look at the Orthodox, nationalist businessman Konstantin Malofeev and his new Tsargrad political party. In and of itself, it will not really become a threat to the Kremlin - nor is it meant as such - but the rise of nationalist politics not stage-managed and initiated by the system is an interesting sign of the times and a potential problem for the future.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Nov 22, 2020 • 31min
In Moscow's Shadows 17: Russian Gangsters; and Kadyrov and Captain America
An introduction to the Russian underworld and, especially, three problematic concepts - the 'honest thief,' the 'thieves' world' and the 'mafia state' - to kick off a series of segments about aspects of Russian criminality. And in the second part, why the rest of Russia doesn't share Ramzan Kadyrov's hostility to Captain America.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Nov 8, 2020 • 39min
In Moscow's Shadows 16: The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR): and Is Putin Ill? (Spoiler: Probably Not)
After a few very brief observations on the US elections and the implications of a Biden presidency, a look at the SVR, its operations, role, culture and political ambitions of its director, Sergei Naryshkin (which I also discuss here). Then, in the second part, I take apart the rumours about Putin's supposed imminent resignation for reasons of ill-health - and muse on why we still have to listen to silly rumours.You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
Nov 8, 2020 • 17min
In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 1 November 2020: Five Things Bugging Me in Western Russia Coverage
Another short 'cellcast', going out directly to my Patrons, and to everyone else a week later.A rant, plain and simple. Sparked by the article 'The Narcissism of The New York Times’ Foreign Coverage' in the magazine The Tablet (you can read it here), I grumble intemperately about Western - and yes, primarily US - coverage of Russia. That's certainly not to say all US coverage of Russia is problematic, nor that the pathologies I talk about are exclusively American. But still...You can also follow my blog, In Moscow's Shadows, and become one of the podcast's supporting Patrons and gain question-asking rights and access to exclusive extra materials right here. Support the show
