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In Moscow's Shadows — 265 episodes

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Title
1

In Moscow's Shadows 243: Who Controls The Story In Russia?

2

In Moscow's Shadows 242: Igor Sechin, Sharpening Putin's Pencils for 30 Years

3

In Moscow's Shadows 241: When Attack Dogs Turn

4

In Moscow's Shadows 240: Frankenstein's Putinism

5

In Moscow's Shadows 239: Wars Foreign and Domestic

6

In Moscow's Shadows 238: Bangers and Mish

7

In Moscow's Shadows 237: How A 1552 Siege Explains A 2022 Invasion

8

In Moscow's Shadows 236: What Is Russia?

9

In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: Rebel Russia

10

In Moscow's Shadows 235: From a GRU to a Kill

11

In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: How Putin Is Protected

12

In Moscow's Shadows 234: PACE’s Picks, Ukraine’s Grid, Russia’s Corruption

13

In Moscow's Shadows 233: News, from Abu Dhabi to Kamchatka; and Chechnya After Kadyrov

14

In Moscow's Shadows 232: the Black Priest vs the Death Cult

15

In Moscow's Shadows 231: Real Guarantees for Ukraine

16

In Moscow's Shadows 230: The Rise and Fall of a Chechen Gang

17

In Moscow's Shadows 229: Heroes and Villains

18

In Moscow's Shadows 228: Blood & Soil versus Bread & Butter

19

In Moscow's Shadows 227: It's War! (within the emigre opposition, at least)

20

In Moscow's Shadows 226: Monsters in the Woods

21

In Moscow's Shadows 225: A Chance for Peace in Ukraine?

22

In Moscow's Shadows 224: In Helsinki's (and Kyiv's) Shadows

23

In Moscow's Shadows 223: After Putin, Who... or What?

24

In Moscow's Shadows 222: Are We Seeing A New Putin?

25

In Moscow's Shadows 221: Is the Sun Rising over Russo-Japanese Relations?

26

In Moscow's Shadows 220: Power Politics in the FSB and a new 'Most Dangerous Man in Russia'?

27

In Moscow's Shadows 219: Decoding Putin in Valdai

28

In Moscow's Shadows 218: Putin, the Blunderer-in-Chief?

29

In Moscow's Shadows 217: MiGs in Estonian skies, exercises on Poland's borders - a threat to Europe?

30

In Moscow's Shadows 216: What Security Guarantees for Ukraine Might Work?

31

In Moscow's Shadows 215: A Tale of Two Coups

32

In Moscow's Shadows 214: Law and Lawlessness in Late Putinism (or, Late Brezhnevism redux)

33

In Moscow's Shadows 213: Foreign Agents in Russia, Foreigners in Ukraine...

34

In Moscow's Shadows 212: War and Peace and Alaska

35

In Moscow's Shadows 211: Trump, Putin, Alaska...

36

In Moscow's Shadows 210: Is Russia Being Sentenced To The Digital Gulag?

37

In Moscow's Shadows 209: Eagle, Dragon, Bear - how the Ukraine war drives Moscow into Beijing's orbit

38

In Moscow's Shadows 208: 5 Million Downloads and Counting! A Q&A Compilation

39

In Moscow's Shadows 207: What Is Going On Between Baku and Moscow?

40

In Moscow's Shadows 206: Corruption, Putinism's Achilles' Heel

41

In Moscow's Shadows 205: The Peace Crisis that faces Russia after the Ukraine War

42

In Moscow's Shadows 204: The Opportunity and the Threat, Moscow and Iran, Moscow and the West

43

In Moscow's Shadows 203: Can Putin Afford To End The War?

44

In Moscow's Shadows 202: What Is This Resilience Thing Anyway?

45

In Moscow's Shadows 201: Peacetalkers and Warfighters

46

In Moscow's Shadows 200: Victory Day (whose?)

47

In Moscow's Shadows 199: the General in GenPop

48

In Moscow's Shadows 198: War (in Russia's underworld) and Peace (in Ukraine)?

49

In Moscow's Shadows 197: Russia's future fascist turn?

50

In Moscow's Shadows 196: Space, the Failing Frontier

51

In Moscow's Shadows 195: Q&A, Part 2

52

In Moscow's Shadows 194: Q&A, Part 1

53

In Moscow's Shadows 193: Mishustin's Annual Report: what he says, what he doesn't

54

In Moscow's Shadows 192: What if Ukraine could join the EU in months, not years?

55

In Moscow's Shadows 191: How is Russian Foreign Policy Made?

56

In Moscow's Shadows 190: Sanctions, Spies, and Suspect Legitimacy

57

In Moscow's Shadows 189: Oval Office Mugging and Russia's Police in Crisis

58

In Moscow's Shadows 188: War and Peace and Trump

59

In Moscow's Shadows 187: Tatarstan

60

In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: Ukrainskii Sindrom

61

In Moscow's Shadows 186: Why is Putin's Russia so Prone to Conspiracy Theories?

62

In Moscow's Shadows 185: The One With All The Stuff

63

In Moscow's Shadows 184: One Hundred Years of Companionship?

64

In Moscow's Shadows 183: War and Peace (and Public Opinion)

65

In Moscow's Shadows 182: Things To Watch in 2025

66

In Moscow's Shadows 181: Strap in for a Bumpy 2025

67

In Moscow's Shadows 180: Keep Calm and Carry On

68

In Moscow's Shadows 179: Sex, Drugs & Rocky Roads

69

In Moscow's Shadows 178: Assad la vista, baby - what does Damascus's fall mean for Russia?

70

In Moscow's Shadows 177: Adaptation in Russia and Ukraine

71

In Moscow's Shadows 176: Is Andrei Belousov the Lavrov of the Defence Ministry?

72

In Moscow's Shadows 175: 'In a dangerous world, strike first' - Russian strategic culture

73

In Moscow's Shadows 174: Putin, Trump, and the 'Polyphonic' world order

74

In Moscow's Shadows 173: Personalistic Power under Putin

75

In Moscow's Shadows 172: BRICS without Straw

76

In Moscow's Shadows bonus minipodcast: North Koreans in Russia?

77

In Moscow's Shadows 171: The invisible and invidious Sergei Korolev, perhaps the next head of the FSB

78

In Moscow's Shadows 170: The Opposition Soap Opera

79

In Moscow's Shadows 169: The GUSP, the most secret of Russia's secret services

80

In Moscow's Shadows 168: Putin Wants Us To Have Nuclear Nightmares

81

In Moscow's Shadows 167: Shoigu Redux

82

In Moscow's Shadows 166: Raider Nation, a quick news round-up

83

In Moscow's Shadows 165: Prince Bogdoi, Information Logjams and Public-Private Empire

84

In Moscow's Shadows 164: From Ballots to Babies, a quick news round-up

85

In Moscow's Shadows 163: The Importance of Optimism (even when it comes to Russia)

86

In Moscow's Shadows 162: Lavrov's (Living) Obituary

87

In Moscow's Shadows 161: What's Going On in Russian Prisons?

88

In Moscow's Shadows 160: Kursk as Political Actor and Allegory

89

In Moscow's Shadows 159: The Kursk Incursion

90

In Moscow's Shadows 158: A Hectic Week in Russia

91

In Moscow's Shadows 157: No Crime and Much Punishment: the Gershkovich Case and recent books on Russia's prisons

92

In Moscow's Shadows 156: Are Putin's Praetorians up to the challenges of the future?

93

In Moscow's Shadows 155: Putin's Shadow War on the West

94

In Moscow's Shadows 154: What (if anything) does the Labour Party victory in the UK mean for Ukraine and Russia?

95

In Moscow's Shadows 153: Geopolitics, Nepotism, Terror and Assassination... (all the nice things)

96

In Moscow's Shadows 152: Prigozhin's Mutiny, One Year On

97

In Moscow's Shadows 151: From Switzerland to SMERSH

98

In Moscow's Shadows 150: An Unfunny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

99

In Moscow's Shadows 149: Dyumin, Deterrence and a Deputy

100

In Moscow's Shadows 148: 'Purging' the Military; the politics of anti-corruption in a corrupt system

101

In Moscow's Shadows 147: The Reshuffle, Or Change To Preserve Things As They Are

102

In Moscow's Shadows 146: Britain and Russia, Eternal Frenemies

103

In Moscow's Shadows 145: How Corruption Works Under Putin

104

In Moscow's Shadows 144: Of Talks and Thugs

105

In Moscow's Shadows 143: Of MICE and Man

106

In Moscow's Shadows 142: Heresies and Revolutions

107

In Moscow's Shadows 141: Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll (kinda)

108

In Moscow's Shadows 140: Terrorism and Totalitarianism

109

In Moscow's Shadows 139: Why Even Sham Elections Can Matter

110

In Moscow's Shadows 138: Gangster Geopolitics

111

In Moscow's Shadows 137: They Pretend To Lead Us, We Pretend To Believe

112

In Moscow's Shadows 136: Avenging Navalny

113

In Moscow's Shadows 135: Navalny in the late Soviet Union

114

In Moscow's Shadows 134: Kaliningrad still at the Crossroads

115

In Moscow's Shadows 133: Books on Russia, Books on Ukraine

116

In Moscow's Shadows 132: A View from the Provinces

117

In Moscow's Shadows 131: European Strategy and Vorobyov's Prospects

118

In Moscow's Shadows 130: Questions I Can't Answer

119

In Moscow's Shadows 129: It's All About Putin's Eggs

120

In Moscow's Shadows 128: Politics, War and Lunacy - a look forward to 2024

121

In Moscow's Shadows 127: When Napoleon was Nuked and Other Russian Conspiracy Theories

122

In Moscow's Shadows 126: Truth and Tedium in Putin's Marathon Town Hall and the Russian Press

123

In Moscow's Shadows 125: Putin's Coming Back! And So's the Cold War?

124

In Moscow's Shadows 124: Putin's Performative Politics

125

In Moscow's Shadows 123: Russia's 'Red-Brown' Leftists, and How I Became A Voice of the West

126

In Moscow's Shadows 122: Taking on Conventional Wisdom About Putin

127

In Moscow's Shadows 121: Making Sense of Makhachkala

128

In Moscow's Shadows 120: Putin is Dead! (well, probably not)

129

In Moscow's Shadows 119: Manifestos to the Left of me, Manifestos to the Right

130

In Moscow's Shadows 118: Clueless in Gaza - Russia and the current Middle East crisis

131

In Moscow's Shadows 117: Security Politics and the President Who Can't Change His Spots

132

In Moscow's Shadows 116: Putin's "Forever War" (which isn't)

133

In Moscow's Shadows 115: Kadyrov and the Conflict Entrepreneurs

134

In Moscow's Shadows 114: Six of the Best (?)

135

In Moscow's Shadows 113: And Goodnight Wagner?

136

In Moscow's Shadows 112: Goodbye Prigozhin

137

In Moscow's Shadows 111: A Nervous Kremlin and a Neglected Police Force

138

In Moscow's Shadows 110: Why Navalny Doesn't Hate The Goat

139

In Moscow's Shadows 109: A Tale of Two Last Wars, Afghanistan and Ukraine

140

In Moscow's Shadows 108: Where Have All The Generals Gone?

141

In Moscow's Shadows 107: Where Are We Now On Prigozhin's Mutiny?

142

In Moscow's Shadows 106: The Spooky Side of Prigozhin's Mutiny

143

In Moscow's Shadows 105: Prigozhin's Mutiny

144

In Moscow's Shadows 104: Paranormal Putinism

145

In Moscow's Shadows 103: The Rise of the Princeling Patrushev, the Grey Cardigan

146

In Moscow's Shadows 102: The Wolf that Only Howls: the Chechens in Ukraine

147

In Moscow's Shadows 101: Phoney Wars and Rising Stars

148

In Moscow's Shadows 100: All the News That's Fit to Print (in Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

149

In Moscow's Shadows 99: All Hail the Tsar? Why Putinism has suffered from becoming monarchical

150

In Moscow's Shadows 98: Dogs of War (and Racoons)

151

In Moscow's Shadows 97: Where Are They Now?

152

In Moscow's Shadows 96: Of Leaks and Lengths

153

In Moscow's Shadows 95: Tatarsky, Gershkovich, Patrushev and Guns

154

In Moscow's Shadows 94: What do you do with a problem like Medvedev?

155

In Moscow's Shadows 93: Oligarchs and Judges

156

In Moscow's Shadows 92: Everyone's Got an Agenda: Hungary, China, Neo-Nazis, Kadyrov, Anime Fans...

157

In Moscow's Shadows 91: Russian Fantasies - Putin's address to the nation and the lessons from Russian science fiction

158

In Moscow's Shadows 90: A Murder in Donbas Evokes the 90s and Putin Cosplays the 40s

159

In Moscow's Shadows 89: Tanks, the New Patriotic War and the Strelkov-Prigozhin Spat

160

In Moscow's Shadows 88: Enter Gerasimov

161

In Moscow's Shadows 87: War, Politics and Putin's New Year's Address

162

In Moscow's Shadows 86: Russian Rumours and Cognitive Biases

163

In Moscow's Shadows 85: War and Peace (and how both are changing)

164

In Moscow's Shadows 84: Putin the History (Abuse) Man

165

In Moscow's Shadows 83: Putin's decision-making; and Russian organised crime after the invasion

166

In Moscow's Shadows 82: What Prigozhin Wants, What Putin Believes, and Why Russia Might Create its own Bureau 39

167

In Moscow's Shadows 81: A Sampling of the Latest News; and the Russo-Chinese Intelligence Relationship

168

In Moscow's Shadows 80: Annexations, Mobilisations, Martial Law and More

169

In Moscow's Shadows 79: Putin's Dilemmas, on and off the battlefield

170

In Moscow's Shadows 78: Organised Labour in a Neoliberal and Authoritarian Russia

171

In Moscow's Shadows 77: Gorbachev's Hope vs Putin's Victimhood, a short rumination

172

In Moscow's Shadows 76: The Impotence of Power and Giving Liz Truss some options for Narrative Warfare

173

In Moscow's Shadows 75: Shoigu and Power under Putinism-Patrushevism

174

In Moscow's Shadows 74: Putinism-Patrushevism

175

In Moscow's Shadows 73: From Liberal Politics to Boris Johnson's Departure, answers to more listener questions

176

In Moscow's Shadows 72: A Tale of Two Colonels, Strelkov and Putin

177

In Moscow's Shadows 71: Russia, Ukraine and beyond - another miscellany

178

In Moscow's Shadows 70: A Miscellany - Being Banned, Putin and Lavrov Speak Out, Divisions in the Elite and Listeners' Questions

179

In Moscow's Shadows 69: A Bargain-Basement Empire in the Offing, and Who Is Sergei Kirienko?

180

In Moscow's Shadows 68: No, Russia isn't winning in Ukraine, and no, there's no coup imminent...

181

In Moscow's Shadows 67: Why September is the Month to Watch, and 'Putin, Ukraine and the Revenge of History'

182

In Moscow's Shadows 66: Silovik, Nuclear, Criminal and Religious - a Choice of Victories

183

In Moscow's Shadows 65: Fabian Burkhardt on Russia's Elites, Coups and Rumours

184

In Moscow's Shadows 64: Dvornikov, Mishustin, Scenarios and Traitors - more about Ukraine

185

In Moscow's Shadows 63: Terrible Crimes, Terrible Rulers, Terrible Dilemmas

186

In Moscow's Shadows 62: Ukraine: A New Strategy, An Absent Shoigu, An Angry National Guard and a Medieval Lithuanian Comparison

187

In Moscow's Shadows 61: Ukraine: When Autocracy meets Technocracy - Putin's War, Info War, Spook War

188

In Moscow's Shadows 60: Ukraine: Nuclear Options, National Morale, and How Kyiv Can Save Moscow

189

In Moscow's Shadows 59: Imagining a Ukrainian peace deal

190

In Moscow's Shadows 58: Ukrainian thoughts, welcome to stagnation, and more 2022 predictions

191

In Moscow's Shadows 57: Who's Trapping Whom on Ukraine, and some 2022 Predictions for Russia

192

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas 2021-22 (6): A Christmas Scandal

193

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 24 December 2021: Dmitry Mironov

194

In Moscow's Shadows 56: Jaw-Jaw so Far, not War-War (brief thoughts on the state of play)

195

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas 2021-22 (7): Russia’s Planet Business in 2022

196

In Moscow's Shadows 55: Kazakhstan, through the Russian lens

197

In Moscow's Shadows 54: Naughty or Nice? What 2022 May Hold For Russia's Rulers

198

In Moscow's Shadows 53: Trick or Treaties - Russia's proposals to 'resolve' the current crisis

199

In Moscow's Shadows 52: Nightmares before Christmas? Ukraine and the Russian underworld

200

In Moscow's Shadows 51: Ukraine, Prisons, Legitimacy and Lombards...

201

In Moscow's Shadows 50: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belarus and Ukraine

202

In Moscow's Shadows 49: Survivalism in Russia. And cheese.

203

In Moscow's Shadows 48: What can you learn from Tula? On Russian provincial life and politics, Governor Dyumin, and busses

204

In Moscow's Shadows 47: Postcards from Moscow

205

In Moscow's Shadows 46: New 'Foreign Agent' restrictions and 'Hybrid Warfare'

206

In Moscow's Shadows 45: Pretty much everything but the election: Lavrov's corruption, Team Navalny's strategy, Zapad-2021, Stories That Didn't Bark, and Shoigu's future

207

In Moscow's Shadows 44: As above, so below - a prison riot in Kamchatka and a society looking to a sanitised past for hope

208

In Moscow's Shadows 43: Poklonskaya, Ethnic Rumbles and Naryshkin's Claims to be Putin's Mate

209

In Moscow's Shadows 42: Moscow's Afghan Worries, and the Trouble with Predictions

210

In Moscow's Shadows 41: The Communist Party Embattled...And Occultism and Russian Politics

211

In Moscow's Shadows 40: 'Mishustinism' and 'Kozakisation' - the adventures of technocrats in Moscow and the Donbas

212

In Moscow's Shadows 39: Putin's latest article on Ukraine and his attempt to place himself on the right side of history

213

In Moscow's Shadows 38: The topic I never thought I'd address: Sport

214

In Moscow's Shadows 37: Direct Line and the Politics behind Politics; and Wars in Afghanistan Compared

215

In Moscow's Shadows 36: Good News/Bad News: The Geneva Summit and Coronavirus on the Rise

216

In Moscow's Shadows 35: Crackdown, Belarus, HMS Defender and the Putin-Biden Summit

217

In Moscow's Shadows 34: Belarus, of course

218

In Moscow's Shadows 33: The Russian Orthodox Church PLC; and No Country For Old Securocrats

219

In Moscow's Shadows 32: Victory Day and Memory Politics, and the Kremlin in WW2

220

In Moscow's Shadows 31: Navalny, Patrushev, Orban, and more [RELOADED]

221

In Moscow's Shadows 30: The (Czech) Lion that Roared

222

In Moscow's Shadows 29: Is Russia Declining, and Is Putin's Handsome?

223

In Moscow's Shadows 28: The LDPR: Paralunatic Wing of United Russia

224

In Moscow's Shadows 27: Men of Force and Forceful Language

225

In Moscow's Shadows 26: Moscow's Marvels, and Mob Murder

226

In Moscow's Shadows 25: Navalny in Prison

227

In Moscow's Shadows 24: Scenarios for Russia after Navalny, and Dzerzhinsky vs Nevsky [reloaded]

228

In Moscow's Shadows 23: Is Navalny the best thing that ever happened to Putinism? Russia's 'Stolypin moment'?

229

In Moscow's Shadows 22: The Morning After A Hot Day in Russia

230

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 18 January 2021: What does the Kremlin do with Navalny?

231

In Moscow's Shadows 21: The Federal Protection Service (FSO) and Russian security politics; and Three Stories About the Opposition

232

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 4 January: Kulikovo, 1380 to 2021

233

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 1 January: Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu

234

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 28 December: Directorate K and the FSB's dilemma

235

Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas: 25 December: Afghan Christmas

236

In Moscow's Shadows 20: Spooks: more Navalny, will the FSB change tack, and did the SVR carry out a 'cyberattack'?

237

In Moscow's Shadows 19: The Navalny Hit (after the Bellingcat/Insider report)

238

In Moscow's Shadows 18: Life in the Communist Party? And Three Random Stories

239

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 24 November 2020: Konstantin Malofeev and his Tsargrad party - a potential threat to the Kremlin from the right?

240

In Moscow's Shadows 17: Russian Gangsters; and Kadyrov and Captain America

241

In Moscow's Shadows 16: The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR): and Is Putin Ill? (Spoiler: Probably Not)

242

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 1 November 2020: Five Things Bugging Me in Western Russia Coverage

243

In Moscow's Shadows 15: In conversation with Anna Arutunyan, on sanctions, calling Putin's bluff, and various bunches of guys

244

In Moscow's Shadows 14: The Kremlin, Will and Empire; and, A Fistful of Books #1

245

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 29 September 2020: A Week in the life of Sergei Naryshkin

246

In Moscow's Shadows 13: The GRU, and why is it so hard to leave Putin?

247

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 19 September 2020: Questioning Less about Navalny

248

In Moscow's Shadows 12: Drift in Russian Politics and the Decay of the 'Hybrid Regime'; on Cheating, in dissertations, politics and the underworld

249

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 6 September 2020: Belarus's Strongmen

250

In Moscow's Shadows 11: On Power and its perceived absence: the National Guard, the European Union

251

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 22 August 2020: #Navalny

252

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 19 August 2020: Belarus, Russia and the Information War

253

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 11 August 2020: Russia and Belarus

254

In Moscow's Shadows 10: Russian Influence, Soft Power and Dark Power

255

In Moscow's Shadows 9: Thrones of Bayonets (and hacking coronavirus research)

256

In Moscow's Shadows 8: Serebrennikov, Miniakhmetov and Set' and the 'Three Russias'

257

In Moscow's Shadows 7: Technocrats and Cultural Warriors, and Why I'd Vote No In the Constitutional Plebiscite

258

In Moscow's Shadows 6: The Most Dangerous Man in Russia

259

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 7 June 2020: A Plot in Prague, The Murders That Weren't

260

In Moscow's Shadows 5: Disinformation (and deep-cover spies and Libya)

261

In Moscow's Shadows Cellcast: 25 May 2020: Gangsters, SMEs and Covid economic policy

262

In Moscow's Shadows 4: Vorontsov, Police Protests and Community Action (plus 'late Putinism', spooks and Western policy)

263

In Moscow's Shadows 3: Victory Day, National Myths and Patron's Questions

264

In Moscow's Shadows 2: Mishustin, Sechin, Institutional vs Personal Power

265

In Moscow's Shadows 1: Coronavirus, Sobyanin, Social Contracts and Big Len