Episode 34: Pandemic, power and Putin forever

This episode takes an in-depth look at the political developments in Russia and analyzes the changes that were made in order for Vladimir Putin to stay on as president of the Russian Federation for at least another two terms. The episode features an interview with Agnieszka Legucka, an expert on Russia from the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Maciek and Agnieszka discuss Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, how it helped Putin quickly manoeuvre in order to stay in power, and what might be next for the Russian president and his inner circle. They also touch on the economic situation in the country with oil prices at an all-time low and how this, coupled with an oncoming recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, will affect Russia in the coming months.Read New Eastern Europe’s appeal to include Eastern Partnership countries in any EU recovery plan: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/04/01/borders-might-be-closed-but-our-policies-need-to-be-open/Follow our coverage of the coronavirus in our region here: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/03/16/coronavirus-in-the-eastern-partnership-states/Resources“Kremlin Kids: The Second Generation of the Russian Elite” By: Ageniszka Legucka and Bartosz Bieliszczuk. Polish Institute of International Affairs: https://www.pism.pl/publications/Kremlin_Kids_The_Second_Generation_of_the_Russian_Elite“Putin’s ideas for 2024” By: Agnieszka Legucak. New Eastern Europe 31 January 2020: https://neweasterneurope.eu/2020/01/31/putins-ideas-for-2024/Join us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/groups/TalkEasternEurope Music featured in the PodcastLicensed under the Creative Commons license 3.0/4.0:Intro/outro: “Indie Rock” by Scott Holmes: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Holmes/Road_Trip_Indie_Rock/Indie_Rock_1327The Show Must Be Go by Kevin MacLeod: https://filmmusic.io/song/4509-the-show-must-be-goLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Please support our efforts. Become a Podcast Patron: www.patreon.com/talkeasterneurope