A Matter of Defense: Russia's Arms Industry, Post-Soviet Wars, and American Pragmatism

On this episode, Misha talks with Ruslan Pukhov, a Russian defense analyst and the director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST). Mr. Pukhov shares about the origins of CAST during the late 90s, the state of Russia's defense economy, and his views on the current war in Ukraine. He states that neither the Ukrainian public nor Ukrainian leadership and elites understand what "victory" means in terms of a realistic approach and that continued American support, strongly dependent upon the upcoming US presidential elections in his view, is critical to Ukraine's prospects in this war. EPISODE NOTES: The journalist Mr. Pukhov mentions is Yuri Lyamin. The link to his blog the Imperial Navigator, where his latest pieces analyze Hamas propaganda following the recent eruption of hostilities between Iran-backed Hamas and Israel: https://imp-navigator.livejournal.com/. Select articles from a variety of sources that include commentary from the demographer Alexey Raksha: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-20/rogue-demographer-says-russia-covid-deaths-may-be-europe-s-worst https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/putin-s-war-escalation-is-hastening-demographic-crash-for-russia https://fortune.com/2022/10/18/russia-population-historic-decline-emigration-war-plunging-birth-rate-form-perfect-storm/ https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/03/04/russias-population-nightmare-is-going-to-get-even-worse https://theweek.com/russia/1017914/russias-catastrophic-missing-men-problem https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/conflict-deepens-russias-demographic-crisis For a list of pieces by Mr. Pukhov as written for The Moscow Times visit https://www.themoscowtimes.com/author/ruslan-pukhov PRODUCER'S NOTE: This episode was recorded on October 1, 2023 via Zoom. The views expressed in this episode belong to the speakers and do not reflect those of either the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies or the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at The University of Texas at Austin. If you have questions, comments, or would like to be a guest on the show, please email [email protected] and we will be in touch! CREDITS Associate Producer: Misha Simanovskyy (@MSimanovskyy) Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig (@cullanwithana) Associate Producer: Sergio Glajar Production Assistant: Faith VanVleet Production Assistant: Eliza Fisher Supervising Producer: Nicholas Pierce SlavX Editorial Director: Sam Parrish Recording, Editing, and Sound Design: Michelle Daniel Music Producer: Charlie Harper (@charlieharpermusic) www.charlieharpermusic.com (Main Theme by Charlie Harper and additional background music by Beat Mekanik, Broke For Free, KAZKA) Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (@M_S_Daniel) www.msdaniel.com DISCLAIMER: Texas Podcast Network is brought to you by The University of Texas at Austin. Podcasts are produced by faculty members and staffers at UT Austin who work with University Communications to craft content that adheres to journalistic best practices. The University of Texas at Austin offers these podcasts at no charge. Podcasts appearing on the network and this webpage represent the views of the hosts, not of The University of Texas at Austin. Special Guest: Ruslan Pukhov.