Shows
The Russia GuyE124: The Great Russian Oil HeistToday's guest is Sergei Khazov-Cassia, a correspondent in Moscow for RFE/RL's Russian Service. In this interview, Kevin asks Sergei about his recent investigative report on industrial-scale oil theft in Russia.Read an English-language translation of the story, “The Great Russian Oil Heist,” right here.Music and audio for "The Russia Guy":Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки”Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2021-04-1319 min
The Russia GuyE116: Jack Stubbs on Russian Outreach to the U.S. Right WingToday's guest is Jack Stubbs, the European cybersecurity correspondent at the news agency Reuters and previously a correspondent in Russia and Ukraine. About a week ago, on October 1, 2020, Jack authored an exclusive story at Reuters, titled “Russian Operation Masqueraded as Right-Wing News Site to Target U.S. Voters,” about people connected to the infamous Internet Research Agency — that troll factory founded by Evgeny Prigozhin — running a fake news outlet designed to target right-wing voters with inflammatory political messaging ahead of this year’s U.S. presidential election. According to sources familiar with an FBI probe, this is th...
2020-10-0827 min
The Russia GuyE116: Jack Stubbs on Russian Outreach to the U.S. Right WingToday's guest is Jack Stubbs, the European cybersecurity correspondent at the news agency Reuters and previously a correspondent in Russia and Ukraine. About a week ago, on October 1, 2020, Jack authored an exclusive story at Reuters, titled “Russian Operation Masqueraded as Right-Wing News Site to Target U.S. Voters,” about people connected to the infamous Internet Research Agency — that troll factory founded by Evgeny Prigozhin — running a fake news outlet designed to target right-wing voters with inflammatory political messaging ahead of this year’s U.S. presidential election. According to sources familiar with an FBI probe, this is the right...
2020-10-0827 min
The Russia GuyE113: Anna ArutunyanToday’s guest is Anna Arutunyan, a Russian-American analyst and writer and the author of “The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult” (2014) and “The Media in Russia” (2009) and the co-author of “Freedom, Repression, and Private Property in Russia” (2013). Her work has been published all over the place, and one of her most recent articles was released on August 5 in the magazine Foreign Affairs, titled “There Is No Russian Plot Against America.” Follow Anna on Twitter here!Music and audio for "The Russia Guy":Ну погоди, episode 14Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки”Thinking Music by Kevin MacLeod / Link / LicenseThe Bandit by Kevin MacLeod / Link / LicenseSupport the s
2020-09-0736 min
The Russia GuyE113: Anna ArutunyanToday’s guest is Anna Arutunyan, a Russian-American analyst and writer and the author of “The Putin Mystique: Inside Russia’s Power Cult” (2014) and “The Media in Russia” (2009) and the co-author of “Freedom, Repression, and Private Property in Russia” (2013). Her work has been published all over the place, and one of her most recent articles was released on August 5 in the magazine Foreign Affairs, titled “There Is No Russian Plot Against America.” Follow Anna on Twitter here!Music and audio for "The Russia Guy":Ну погоди, episode 14Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки”Thinking Music by Kevin MacLeod / Link / LicenseThe Bandit by Kevin MacLeod / Link / LicenseSupport the show (https://www...
2020-09-0736 min
The Russia GuyE109: Andras Toth-Czifra on Arresting Khabarovsk’s GovernorToday’s show looks at the case against Khabarovsk Governor Sergey Furgal, whom federal agents arrested on Thursday, July 9, and promptly flew him to Moscow where he was arraigned on charges that he organized violence (including several contract killings) against business rivals in 2004 and 2005.Today's guest is András Tóth-Czifra, a political analyst based in New York and the author of the No Yardstick blog, where he’s written for almost 10 years about Russian politics, often focusing on the country’s more remote regions.Music and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14Олег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки”Thinking Music by Kevin MacLeod / Link / LicenseSupport the show
2020-07-1124 min
The Russia GuyE107: Yuval Weber on Russia's Political EconomyToday's guest is Yuval Weber, the Kennan Institute Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies. He was also the inaugural Daniel Morgan Graduate School-Kennan Institute fellow and previously taught at Harvard University as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Government. Dr. Weber is working on a book now that asks why pro-market economic reform efforts in Russia follow similar trajectories even among very different types of government like monarchy, communism, and “sovereign democracy.”Check out his DMGS bio here and follow him on Twitter here.Music and audi...
2020-05-2544 min
The Russia GuyE107: Yuval Weber on Russia's Political EconomyToday's guest is Yuval Weber, the Kennan Institute Associate Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies. He was also the inaugural Daniel Morgan Graduate School-Kennan Institute fellow and previously taught at Harvard University as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Government. Dr. Weber is working on a book now that asks why pro-market economic reform efforts in Russia follow similar trajectories even among very different types of government like monarchy, communism, and “sovereign democracy.”Check out his DMGS bio here and follow him on Twitter here.Music and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14Ол...
2020-05-2544 min
The Russia GuyE105: Miriam ElderToday’s guest is Miriam Elder, a political reporter at BuzzFeed, where until recently she worked for many years as the world editor. Before that, she was the Russia correspondent for The Guardian, and her work has been featured in many other publications, including The Financial Times, The Atlantic, The Moscow Times, and more. Miriam is also the first Western journalist who reported extensively on Pussy Riot. She was kind enough to come on this podcast and answer some questions about life in Moscow, life as an editor, and the ups and downs of writing about Russia.Follow Miriam Elder on...
2020-04-1923 min
The Russia GuyE104: Brian O’Toole on Russian Medical Supplies for NYCToday’s guest is Brian O’Toole, a senior fellow in the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council. Brian previously worked at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2009 to 2017, becoming a senior adviser to the director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As a senior adviser, Brian helped manage the implementation of all OFAC-administered economic and financial sanctions programs, and provided strategic direction of the internal management of the agency. He additionally played a central role in designing the U.S. sanctions regime in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and negotiating the multilateral sancti...
2020-04-0521 min
The Russia GuyE104: Brian O’Toole on Russian Medical Supplies for NYCToday’s guest is Brian O’Toole, a senior fellow in the Global Business and Economics Program at the Atlantic Council. Brian previously worked at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2009 to 2017, becoming a senior adviser to the director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As a senior adviser, Brian helped manage the implementation of all OFAC-administered economic and financial sanctions programs, and provided strategic direction of the internal management of the agency. He additionally played a central role in designing the U.S. sanctions regime in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and negotiating the multilateral sancti...
2020-04-0521 min
The Russia GuyE103: Jill DoughertyToday’s guest is Jill Dougherty, a Russia expert who worked as a journalist at CNN for 30 years before shifting to work in academia. At CNN, she served as a White House correspondent, a foreign affairs correspondent covering the U.S. State Department, as a U.S. affairs editor, a managing editor for CNN Asia/Pacific, and for almost a decade as Moscow Bureau chief. Jill was kind enough to come on this podcast to discuss her many years in this field, how she’s seen it change and evolve over time, and what she makes of Russia’s past, presen...
2020-03-2934 min
The Russia GuyE103: Jill DoughertyToday’s guest is Jill Dougherty, a Russia expert who worked as a journalist at CNN for 30 years before shifting to work in academia. At CNN, she served as a White House correspondent, a foreign affairs correspondent covering the U.S. State Department, as a U.S. affairs editor, a managing editor for CNN Asia/Pacific, and for almost a decade as Moscow Bureau chief. Jill was kind enough to come on this podcast to discuss her many years in this field, how she’s seen it change and evolve over time, and what she makes of Russia’s past, presen...
2020-03-2934 min
The Russia GuyE95: Olesya Vartanyan on South Caucasus Breakaway RegionsToday's guest is Olesya Vartanyan, Crisis Group’s analyst for the “EU Eastern Neighbourhood.” Based in Tbilisi, she researches and produces reports on regional security issues in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, with a particular focus on breakaway regions in the South Caucasus. She told Kevin what it’s like to go from a career in journalism to the world of professional analysis, and let him ask her ignorant questions about the region.Follow her on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/Olesya_vArtFind her Crisis Group expert page here:https://www.crisisgroup.org/who-we-are/people/olesya-vartanyanSupport this very podcast here:www...
2019-11-1325 min
The Russia GuyE93: Tikhon Dzyadko on Russian JournalismToday's guest is Tikhon Dzyadko, a journalist who’s worked for Russia’s top independent radio and television broadcasters, Ekho of Moscow and TV Rain, or Dozhd, and he’s now deputy director of news programs at TV station broadcast online in Russia, RTVI. Tikhon talked to Kevin about how he got into journalism, the challenges facing independent reporters in Russia (specifically when it comes to sources), and what he thinks about Russia reporting in the United States.Follow him on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/tikhondzyadko Check out his reporting at RTVI here:https://rtvi.com/team/tikhon...
2019-10-3118 min
The Russia GuyE92: Government Phone Lines in RussiaOn today's episode, Kevin reflects briefly on his first trip to Moscow in seven years, and reviews a new investigative report by Meduza about special government communications services issued by Russia's Federal Protective Service — and why nobody actually uses them.Read the article here:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/10/09/nobody-s-homeSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic and audio:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2019-10-1512 min
The Russia GuyE83: Patrick Reevell on American Gaylen Grandstaff's ‘Two-Year Moscow Prison Odyssey’Today’s guest is Patrick Reevell, the Moscow bureau reporter for ABC News who co-authored the June 26 report about American Gaylen Grandstaff’s “two-year odyssey” in a Moscow remand prison. Patrick was kind enough to come on the podcast and explain how this report came together. He and Kevin talked about how he discovered the story, what this banned “gamma-butyrolactone” substance really is, and how ABC journalists decided to cover Grandstaff’s trial.(Pictured in podcast episode featured image: Gaylen Grandstaff.)Read the ABC News article here:https://abcnews.go.com/International/inside-american-gaylen-grandstaffs-year-odyssey-russian-prison/story?id=63769708Follow Patrick on Twitter here:https://twitte...
2019-06-2828 min
The Russia GuyE80: Kate Brown on ChernobylToday’s guest is Kate Brown, a professor of science, technology, and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the author of a new book called “Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future,” as well as the books “Dispatches from Dystopia” (2015), “Plutopia” (2013), and “A Biography of No Place” (2004). She spoke to Kevin about her research into the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster, her work on the nuclear industry more broadly, and of course her thoughts about the recently aired HBO miniseries, “Chernobyl.”(10:02)Local archives(12:05)Choosing an author's voice(14:19)The West's role in expertise on global nuclear disaste...
2019-06-1744 min
The Russia GuyE79: Ivan Golunov's Investigation Into Russia's Corrupt Funeral BusinessOn today’s show, Kevin reads the full text of his translation of Meduza investigative journalist Ivan Golunov’s August 2018 report on corruption in Russia’s funeral industry. This is the journalism (plus a forthcoming part two) that got him arrested over the weekend and turned the country upside-down. Read the text at Meduza:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2019/06/12/coffins-graveyards-and-billions-of-dollars Chapter breakdowns:(5:33)ST. PETERSBURGA private security monopoly(8:21)VOLGOGRADThe “Pamyat” (Memory) Society(15:50)MOSCOWRituals and criminals(22:23)IN AND AROUND MOSCOW292 pairs of eyeballs for sale(26:42)MOSCOWAccess to death(30:36)RUSSIAA piece of land in Seychelles(34:08)MOSCOWGuardians of the graves(37:47)MOSCOW, TOLYATTI, AND OMSKSuicide at the cem...
2019-06-1253 min
The Russia GuyE78: Five recent op-eds on ethnic riots, Iran dealing, Facebook, wormholes, and SurkovNo interview today. Instead, Kevin reviews the following five op-eds/essays (timestamps below):(2:19)Oleg Kashin in Republic: Why hasn’t GRU veteran Nikita Belyankin’s murder sparked ethnic riots in Russia?https://republic.ru/posts/93868 (7:25)Vladimir Frolov in Republic: The U.S.-Israel-Russia summit is a chance for Moscow to find out what it's worth to Trump in Iranhttps://republic.ru/posts/93851 (12:45)Dmitry Steshin in Komsomolskaya Pravda: A Maidan activist’s new public policy job at Facebook is a vatnik nightmarehttps://www.kp.ru/daily/26986.4/4045597/ (17:23)Gleb Pavlovsky in the Carnegie Moscow Center: Russia meddles in other countries because it’s king of...
2019-06-0630 min
The Russia GuyE78: Five recent op-eds on ethnic riots, Iran dealing, Facebook, wormholes, and SurkovNo interview today. Instead, Kevin reviews the following five op-eds/essays (timestamps below):(2:19)Oleg Kashin in Republic: Why hasn’t GRU veteran Nikita Belyankin’s murder sparked ethnic riots in Russia?https://republic.ru/posts/93868 (7:25)Vladimir Frolov in Republic: The U.S.-Israel-Russia summit is a chance for Moscow to find out what it's worth to Trump in Iranhttps://republic.ru/posts/93851 (12:45)Dmitry Steshin in Komsomolskaya Pravda: A Maidan activist’s new public policy job at Facebook is a vatnik nightmarehttps://www.kp.ru/daily/26986.4/4045597/ (17:23)Gleb Pavlovsky in the Carnegie Moscow Center: Russia meddles in other countries because it’s k...
2019-06-0630 min
The Russia GuyE77: Gina Lentine on Human Rights Promotion at Freedom HouseToday we’re talking about human-rights promotion in Moldova with guest Gina Lentine, a senior program officer at Freedom House, who works primarily on advancing freedom of expression in Moldova and Ukraine. In many ways, her career mirrors the work Kevin has discussed with Paul Massaro and Rachel Bauman at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and Nina Jankowicz at the Kennan Institute (episodes 63 and 18, respectively).Follow Gina on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/ginayoginaAnd read her work at Freedom House here:https://freedomhouse.org/expert/gina-s-lentineSupport this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxp...
2019-05-2934 min
The Russia GuyE75: Karina Orlova on Life as Echo of Moscow's D.C. CorrespondentKevin's guest today is well known in Russia to Echo of Moscow listeners and readers, and English speakers might know her as a contributing writer at The American Interest, where some of her latest articles address Russia’s captured Ukrainian sailors, the arrest of American investor Michael Calvey in Moscow, and a whole lot more. Please welcome to The Russia Guy Karina Orlova.In this interview, Orlova talks about how Russia’s corrupt legal system drove her to journalism. She describes her life as a Russian journalist living in Washington, D.C., and argues at length how the Repu...
2019-04-2432 min
The Russia GuyE74: Maria Baronova on Leaving Russia's Opposition for ‘Russia Today’Kevin's guest this week is Maria Baronova, a former opposition activist who now works for the state media network “Russia Today.” On this episode, Masha talks about her new job at “RT,” leaving the Russian opposition, and visiting the United States in the summer of 2018.Follow Baronova on Twitter here:https://twitter.com/ponny1Support this very podcast here:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic:Ну погоди, episode 14, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncHd3sxpEbo&t=7sОлег Анофриев, Бременские музыканты, “Говорят, мы бяки-буки,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-3wC7gkMDQHenrik Lundkvist, “Kalinka on a Balalaika,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH5znHQ9QRYSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2019-04-1241 min
The Russia GuyE72: Alexey Kovalev on ‘Russians Always Knew There Was No Collusion’Today’s show looks at a controversial new op-ed that appeared in The New York Times on Friday, March 29, 2019, titled “Russians Always Knew There Was No Collusion.” The subheader reads, “The Kremlin’s allies and its opponents alike have been baffled by America’s Russia obsession. Can we ever look at the U.S. the same way again?” Kevin speaks to the author of the text, Alexey Kovalev, the new investigations editor at Meduza and the author of many articles and op-eds in major news outlets, both in Russia and the West.Read the article here:https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/opinion/muelle...
2019-03-3143 min
The Russia GuyE71: Mike Eckel on Mikhail Lesin's Autopsy FilesOn today’s show, Kevin spoke to Mike Eckel, one of the co-authors of an investigative report published earlier today by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. The report is based on a 149-page file released exclusively to RFE/RL that offers what is described as “the most precise scientific description to date” about how Mikhail Lesin, the former Russian press minister, turned up dead in a Washington, D.C., hotel room in November 2015.Read the story here:https://www.rferl.org/a/lesin-autopsy-record/29824566.htmlFollow Mike's work at RFE/RL here:https://www.rferl.org/author/96267.htmlFollow him on Twitte...
2019-03-1624 min
The Russia GuyE65: Alexey Kovalev on Touring AmericaToday, we’re welcoming back Alexey Kovalev, the managing editor of Coda Story’s Russian-language edition and the brains behind the propaganda-busting website Noodle Remover. Alexey recently got back from a whirlwind tour of the United States, as a 2018 World Press Institute fellow. Kevin desperately wanted to know what he thought of his homeland, and Alexey was kind enough to come on the podcast and share his thoughts about America today.So what did they talk about in this interview? Alexey recalled his experiences in eight major U.S. cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Washington, D.C., New York City, Miam...
2018-11-1545 min
The Russia GuyE65: Alexey Kovalev on Touring AmericaToday, we’re welcoming back Alexey Kovalev, the managing editor of Coda Story’s Russian-language edition and the brains behind the propaganda-busting website Noodle Remover. Alexey recently got back from a whirlwind tour of the United States, as a 2018 World Press Institute fellow. Kevin desperately wanted to know what he thought of his homeland, and Alexey was kind enough to come on the podcast and share his thoughts about America today.So what did they talk about in this interview? Alexey recalled his experiences in eight major U.S. cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Washington, D.C., New York City, Miam...
2018-11-1545 min
The Russia GuyE63: Paul Massaro and Rachel Bauman on Working at the U.S. Helsinki CommissionOn today’s show, Kevin welcomes Paul Massaro and Rachel Bauman, two policy advisers at the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Paul works on economic and environmental issues, focusing on anti-corruption initiatives, sanctions, and more, all across the 57 states in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Rachel works specifically on Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the three Baltic states.So what did they talk about in this interview? They started out with what exactly the U.S. Helsinki Commission is, and also discussed what it’s like to work for a U.S. government agency that regularly confronts Russian officials abou...
2018-11-1553 min
The Russia GuyE62: Alina Polyakova on Life as a D.C. Think TankerToday's guest is Alina Polyakova, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, an adjunct professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins University, and a specialist in far-right populism and nationalism, and Russian foreign policy.Alina and Kevin discussed who’s to blame for Donald Trump’s election, how you take a sociology doctorate and become a Washington think tank expert, and what life is like in the hustle and bustle of the American capital. She explained why she didn’t really like Keith Gessen’s “The Quiet Americans” piece in The New York Times Magazine this May, and talked about Washin...
2018-10-1253 min
The Russia GuyE61: David KlionToday’s guest is David Klion, a writer in Brooklyn whose work has appeared in The Nation, The New York Times, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Baffler, and many other publications. In mid-September, the website Coda published a story by David, titled “Russia, Hollywood’s Mirror,” where he examines Russia tropes in American movies over the past six centuries. Here’s the opening of the article: “If Russians didn’t exist, Hollywood would have to invent them. In a sense, Hollywood has.”So what did David and Kevin talk about in this interview? They go through a whole laundry list of American movies...
2018-10-0249 min
The Russia GuyE60: Amie Ferris-RotmanToday's guest is Amie Ferris-Rotman, the Moscow correspondent for The Washington Post, and a veteran reporter on Russia, who’s previously worked for Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Vogue, The Atlantic, Politico, and Foreign Policy. She’s also covered Afghanistan, and she was awarded the John S. Knight Fellowship at Stanford University, where she developed and founded the “Sahar Speaks” project, which mentors and trains aspiring women journalists in Afghanistan.On September 20, the website Coda published a story by Amie about how Vladimir Putin maintains a reputation as a conservative moral leader, while simultaneously supporting women’s abortion...
2018-09-2831 min
The Russia GuyE59: Sean GuilloryToday's show features an interview with Sean Guillory, the scholar behind the popular Sean’s Russia Blog and the SRB Podcast, a weekly podcast on Eurasian politics, history, and culture. Sean is also the digital-scholarship curator in the Russian and East European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh, and he’s an occasional columnist at Jacobin Magazine, where he writes about Russian left-wing politics. In this interview, Kevin asks Sean what he makes of American Russophobia today and whether he thinks it’s fair when people compare it to the McCarthyism of yesteryear. He talks about how he got...
2018-09-2649 min
The Russia GuyE58: Mark GaleottiKevin continues his interview series with professionals in the field of Russia expertise. Today's guest is Dr. Mark Galeotti, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague and the coordinator of its Center for European Security. Check out Dr. Galeotti's latest book: “The Vory: Russia's Super Mafia,” released this May by Yale University Presshttps://www.amazon.com/Vory-Russias-Super-Mafia/dp/0300186827In this interview, Kevin asks Mark several big questions, like what are the most important developing events and stories in Russia today? Will Putin stick around past 2024? Should we keep thinking about the Kremlin in terms of towers and clan...
2018-09-1846 min
The Russia GuyE58: Mark GaleottiKevin continues his interview series with professionals in the field of Russia expertise. Today's guest is Dr. Mark Galeotti, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague and the coordinator of its Center for European Security. Check out Dr. Galeotti's latest book: “The Vory: Russia's Super Mafia,” released this May by Yale University Presshttps://www.amazon.com/Vory-Russias-Super-Mafia/dp/0300186827In this interview, Kevin asks Mark several big questions, like what are the most important developing events and stories in Russia today? Will Putin stick around past 2024? Should we keep thinking about the Krem...
2018-09-1846 min
The Russia GuyE57: Carl SchreckOn today’s show, Kevin continues his series of interviews with journalists working on Russia. This episode features Carl Schreck, a senior correspondent for RFE/RL and a veteran reporter who’s worked in Moscow, from the States, and from Prague, where he’s based now. Carl and Kevin talked about what makes good news stories, how you break into this field, what it’s like to cut your teeth on Russia’s crime beat, and much more.Follow Carl here on Twitter:https://twitter.com/carlschreckSubscribe to his feed at RFE/RL here:https://www.rferl.org/author/93650.htmlSupport this very...
2018-09-1132 min
The Russia GuyE57: Carl SchreckOn today’s show, Kevin continues his series of interviews with journalists working on Russia. This episode features Carl Schreck, a senior correspondent for RFE/RL and a veteran reporter who’s worked in Moscow, from the States, and from Prague, where he’s based now. Carl and Kevin talked about what makes good news stories, how you break into this field, what it’s like to cut your teeth on Russia’s crime beat, and much more.Follow Carl here on Twitter:https://twitter.com/carlschreckSubscribe to his feed at RFE/RL here:https://www.rferl.org/author/93650.htmlSupport this very...
2018-09-1132 min
The Russia GuyE56: Aric Toler on Zakharchenko's DeathOn today’s show, Kevin welcomes back Aric Toler to learn more about the August 31 assassination of Alexander Zakharchenko, the separatist leader of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, or DNR. What path led Zakharchenko to this grisly end, and who planted the bomb that killed him? An open-source intelligence expert at Bellingcat and the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, Aric Toler follows eastern Ukraine’s separatists as closely as anybody.Follow Aric at Twitter:https://twitter.com/AricTolerContribute your hard-earned cash to this podcast:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockMusic:“Polyushka Polye” by The Red Army Choir, www.youtube.com/watch?v...
2018-09-0534 min
The Russia GuyE55: Dustin GiebelOn this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin talks to freelance writer and Russia watcher Dustin Giebel, who was recently the target of a defamatory blog post by a #resistance freedom fighter named Jay McKenzie. The screed was posted on Medium and promoted by information-warfare darlings like lobbyist Molly McKew and former CIA agent John Sipher — two public figures Giebel has criticized in the past.Geibel talked about life as a Russia watcher at a time when strangers are happy to pick apart your biography and harass your family, all in the name of “winning the fight.”Read the screed:http...
2018-08-2413 min
The Russia GuyE54: How Russia Started Recruiting HackersKevin reads the full text of a new investigative report by Meduza’s Daniil Turovsky about how Russia’s war in Georgia sparked Moscow’s modern-day recruitment of criminal hackers. The story is timely not just because we’re currently marking the 10-year anniversary of the Russo-Georgian war, but also because we’re still living in a world dominated by news about Russian election interference, cyber-threats, and more. This is an important story, but most of the reporting has happened in the United States, where the victims are located and the fallout has occurred. Turovsky’s new report is worth reading beca...
2018-08-0927 min
The Russia GuyE54: How Russia Started Recruiting HackersKevin reads the full text of a new investigative report by Meduza’s Daniil Turovsky about how Russia’s war in Georgia sparked Moscow’s modern-day recruitment of criminal hackers. The story is timely not just because we’re currently marking the 10-year anniversary of the Russo-Georgian war, but also because we’re still living in a world dominated by news about Russian election interference, cyber-threats, and more. This is an important story, but most of the reporting has happened in the United States, where the victims are located and the fallout has occurred. Turovsky’s new report is worth reading beca...
2018-08-0927 min
The Russia GuyE53: Anastasia KarimovaOn today’s show, Kevin talks to to Anastasia Karimova, a former activist and journalist in Russia. Today, she’s a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States. Anastasia’s personal history is fascinating in its own right, but it's especially interesting now, in the aftermath of the arrest of Maria Butina.Kevin asked Anastasia about finding her way into and out of Russian opposition politics. What were the old days like? What’s the world of protesting become today? She also talked about working for “Kommersant” and losing faith in Russia’s...
2018-07-2431 min
The Russia GuyE53: Anastasia KarimovaOn today’s show, Kevin talks to to Anastasia Karimova, a former activist and journalist in Russia. Today, she’s a graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the United States. Anastasia’s personal history is fascinating in its own right, but it's especially interesting now, in the aftermath of the arrest of Maria Butina.Kevin asked Anastasia about finding her way into and out of Russian opposition politics. What were the old days like? What’s the world of protesting become today? She also talked about working for “Kommersant” and losing faith...
2018-07-2431 min
The Russia GuyE52: Foreign Agent Maria ButinaToday Kevin will look at the criminal charges against Maria Butina, announced on July 16 by the Justice Department. What are the charges? What kind of dirt does the FBI have on this woman? What's Butina’s history in Russia? Why is she a foreign agent and not a “spy”?Read Meduza's deep dive on Butina: “Meet Maria Butina, the FBI’s Russian gun nut undeclared foreign agent”https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/07/18/meet-maria-butina-the-fbi-s-russian-gun-nut-undeclared-foreign-agentFollow Darina Gribova (who kindly voices Maria Butina in this episode's transcript readings) on Twitter at https://twitter.com/darina_griIf you enjoy this podcast, please consider making a pledge at...
2018-07-2028 min
The Russia GuyE52: Foreign Agent Maria ButinaToday Kevin will look at the criminal charges against Maria Butina, announced on July 16 by the Justice Department. What are the charges? What kind of dirt does the FBI have on this woman? What's Butina’s history in Russia? Why is she a foreign agent and not a “spy”?Read Meduza's deep dive on Butina: “Meet Maria Butina, the FBI’s Russian gun nut undeclared foreign agent”https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/07/18/meet-maria-butina-the-fbi-s-russian-gun-nut-undeclared-foreign-agentFollow Darina Gribova (who kindly voices Maria Butina in this episode's transcript readings) on Twitter at https://twitter.com/darina_griIf you enjoy this p...
2018-07-2028 min
The Russia GuyE51: Yandex's Google Docs LeakOn the evening of July 4, 2018, Russian Internet users realized that the search engine Yandex had been indexing a surprising array of information stored on Google Docs, including files containing passwords, credit card numbers, and corporate documents. Yandex’s press service says the company’s actions were perfectly legitimate, but within hours of Wednesday’s discovery the search engine stopped producing any hyperlinks to Google Docs. In this episode of the podcast, Kevin considers the following three questions: How could this leak have happened? Is anybody at fault here? What kind of information was leaked?Read the whole story at Meduza: “Dirty pu...
2018-07-0618 min
The Russia GuyE51: Yandex's Google Docs LeakOn the evening of July 4, 2018, Russian Internet users realized that the search engine Yandex had been indexing a surprising array of information stored on Google Docs, including files containing passwords, credit card numbers, and corporate documents. Yandex’s press service says the company’s actions were perfectly legitimate, but within hours of Wednesday’s discovery the search engine stopped producing any hyperlinks to Google Docs. In this episode of the podcast, Kevin considers the following three questions: How could this leak have happened? Is anybody at fault here? What kind of information was leaked?Read the whole story at Meduza: “Dirty pu...
2018-07-0618 min
The Russia GuyE50: ShaninkaToday’s show addresses the recent events surrounding the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, better known as “Shaninka,” which just lost its state accreditation, following an inspection by Russia’s Federal Education and Science Supervision Agency (Rosobrnadzor). Inspectors claim that the school is in violation of several state education standards. The agency’s report says Shaninka’s undergraduate and graduate programs fail in many areas to maintain “professional competence corresponding to the designated professional activities.” In this episode, Kevin speaks to three people familiar with the school and Russia’s social sciences: Grigory Yudin, the codirector of Shaninka’s MA program in poli...
2018-06-2313 min
The Russia GuyE50: ShaninkaToday’s show addresses the recent events surrounding the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, better known as “Shaninka,” which just lost its state accreditation, following an inspection by Russia’s Federal Education and Science Supervision Agency (Rosobrnadzor). Inspectors claim that the school is in violation of several state education standards. The agency’s report says Shaninka’s undergraduate and graduate programs fail in many areas to maintain “professional competence corresponding to the designated professional activities.” In this episode, Kevin speaks to three people familiar with the school and Russia’s social sciences: Grigory Yudin, the codirector of Shaninka’s MA program in poli...
2018-06-2313 min
The Russia GuyE49: Talking Russian Pension Reform With an 8-Year-OldOn today’s show, Kevin reviews the pension reform proposal slipped into Russia’s news agenda last week, just as the country’s attention turned to a certain soccer tournament. After summarizing the proposed reforms, Kevin gets some feedback about the plan from a very special guest, his eight-year-old daughter.So what are you going to learn about on today’s show? The Russian government wants to raise the country’s retirement age (from 55 to 63 for women, and from 60 to 65 for men), but how do they intend to do that? How are the authorities communicating this policy initiative to the public? Wh...
2018-06-2022 min
The Russia GuyE49: Talking Russian Pension Reform With an 8-Year-OldOn today’s show, Kevin reviews the pension reform proposal slipped into Russia’s news agenda last week, just as the country’s attention turned to a certain soccer tournament. After summarizing the proposed reforms, Kevin gets some feedback about the plan from a very special guest, his eight-year-old daughter.So what are you going to learn about on today’s show? The Russian government wants to raise the country’s retirement age (from 55 to 63 for women, and from 60 to 65 for men), but how do they intend to do that? How are the authorities communicating this policy initiative to the public? Wh...
2018-06-2022 min
The Russia GuyE48: Russian Labor DiscriminationHowdy, folks! It’s Wednesday, June 13, and we’re hours away from the kickoff of the next FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted in Russia this year. The next month will turn much of the world’s attention to Russia, which means this is a good opportunity to shine a light on the country’s social issues. The last time a sporting event did this was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and back then many in the United States suddenly cared very deeply about LGBT rights in Russia. This year, it’s more of a buffet for haters, with Crimea, Syria, eas...
2018-06-1313 min
The Russia GuyE48: Russian Labor DiscriminationHowdy, folks! It’s Wednesday, June 13, and we’re hours away from the kickoff of the next FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted in Russia this year. The next month will turn much of the world’s attention to Russia, which means this is a good opportunity to shine a light on the country’s social issues. The last time a sporting event did this was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and back then many in the United States suddenly cared very deeply about LGBT rights in Russia. This year, it’s more of a buffet for haters, with Crimea, Syria, eas...
2018-06-1313 min
The Russia GuyE47: Natalia Roudakova on the Babchenko HoaxThis episode of The Russia Guy takes place a week after the staged murder of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was dead to the world for almost 24 hours, from May 29 to May 30, until he was gloriously resurrected by Ukraine’s National Security Agency, which revealed that his killing had been a hoax apparently designed to obtain a hit list with the names of 47 prominent Ukrainian and Russian journalists. The hired hitman was in on the sting operation, and the man arrested for hiring him — Boris German — says he was actually working for Ukrainian counterintelligence. This episode isn’t about the investig...
2018-06-0427 min
The Russia GuyE47: Natalia Roudakova on the Babchenko HoaxThis episode of The Russia Guy takes place a week after the staged murder of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was dead to the world for almost 24 hours, from May 29 to May 30, until he was gloriously resurrected by Ukraine’s National Security Agency, which revealed that his killing had been a hoax apparently designed to obtain a hit list with the names of 47 prominent Ukrainian and Russian journalists. The hired hitman was in on the sting operation, and the man arrested for hiring him — Boris German — says he was actually working for Ukrainian counterintelligence. This episode isn’t about the investig...
2018-06-0427 min
The Russia GuyE46: Nikita Kulachenkov on Russian ActivismKevin's guest in this episode is Nikita Kulachenkov, one of the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s full-time investigators. What are you going to learn about on today’s episode of the podcast? Kevin asked Nikita about Russia’s possible criminalization of appealing to foreign governments for sanctions against Russian citizens, and he asked him what impact this legislation could have on the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s activities. They also discussed the ongoing police crackdown on the organizers of the May 5 anti-Putin protests, and Nikita described the tactics city officials use to suppress political rallies and he explained the Navalny campaign’s mentality...
2018-06-0124 min
The Russia GuyE46: Nikita Kulachenkov on Russian ActivismKevin's guest in this episode is Nikita Kulachenkov, one of the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s full-time investigators. What are you going to learn about on today’s episode of the podcast? Kevin asked Nikita about Russia’s possible criminalization of appealing to foreign governments for sanctions against Russian citizens, and he asked him what impact this legislation could have on the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s activities. They also discussed the ongoing police crackdown on the organizers of the May 5 anti-Putin protests, and Nikita described the tactics city officials use to suppress political rallies and he explained the Navalny campaign’s mentality when staging th...
2018-06-0124 min
The Russia GuyE44: Keith Gessen on The Quiet AmericansKevin’s guest today is Keith Gessen, a novelist, journalist, literary translator, and assistant professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Gessen has written about Russia for The New Yorker, The London Review of Books, The Atlantic, and The New York Times Magazine, where he recently published a fascinating story, titled “The Quiet Americans Behind the U.S.-Russia Imbroglio,” where he examines the historical and philosophical landscape of today’s Russia expertise in the United States. So what are you going to learn about on today’s episode of the podcast? This interview is devoted to Keith’s “Quiet Ameri...
2018-05-2150 min
The Russia GuyE43: David FilipovOn this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin’s guest is David Filipov, a journalist who’s reported from Moscow, Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and New England. David spent years with The Boston Globe, where he contributed to the newsroom that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for covering the Boston Marathon bombing. He also won the 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage as part of a team of Globe videographers, he was awarded the 2003 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism for his contribution to a series on deaths from preventable diseases, and he won the Overseas Pres...
2018-05-1749 min
The Russia GuyE42: Natalia AntonovaKevin’s guest today is Natalia Antonova, who as many listeners already know is a prolific writer, and a journalist who’s worked in Moscow, Kiev, and soon Washington, D.C., where she’s accepted a position at the Voice of America. Natalia was deputy editor at The Moscow News before it was liquidated in the collapse of RIA Novosti, and she’s been published all over the place, including The Washington Post, Politico, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, and many other fine outlets. Natalia is also a playwright and a poet, and she’s working on a fiction book right now...
2018-05-1543 min
The Russia GuyE42: Natalia AntonovaKevin’s guest today is Natalia Antonova, who as many listeners already know is a prolific writer, and a journalist who’s worked in Moscow, Kiev, and soon Washington, D.C., where she’s accepted a position at the Voice of America. Natalia was deputy editor at The Moscow News before it was liquidated in the collapse of RIA Novosti, and she’s been published all over the place, including The Washington Post, Politico, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, and many other fine outlets. Natalia is also a playwright and a poet, and she’s working on a fiction book right now...
2018-05-1543 min
The Russia GuyE41: Emily Parker on ICOsIn this episode, Kevin's guest is Emily Parker, a writer who's worked for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Previously, she was a member of the policy planning staff at the U.S. State Department, where she advised on Internet freedom, digital diplomacy, and open government. Today, Emily writes about tech and foreign affairs, and she works at a blockchain startup.So what are you going to learn about on today’s episode? Emily Parker you through some of the differences between “blockchain,” “cryptocurrency,” and “initial coin offerings” (or ICOs). She and Kevin talked about what governments like and fear...
2018-05-0730 min
The Russia GuyE41: Emily Parker on ICOsIn this episode, Kevin's guest is Emily Parker, a writer who's worked for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Previously, she was a member of the policy planning staff at the U.S. State Department, where she advised on Internet freedom, digital diplomacy, and open government. Today, Emily writes about tech and foreign affairs, and she works at a blockchain startup.So what are you going to learn about on today’s episode? Emily Parker you through some of the differences between “blockchain,” “cryptocurrency,” and “initial coin offerings” (or ICOs). She and Kevin talked about w...
2018-05-0730 min
The Russia GuyE40: Mikhail SvetovThe past three episodes of The Russia Guy have been devoted to the technical details surrounding Russian Internet censorship, but today’s show focuses on one of the organizers of Monday’s Internet freedom rally in Moscow. Kevin spoke to Mikhail Svetov, a member of the Russian Libertarian Party’s federal committee.So what are you going to learn on today’s episode? Mikhail told me how Monday’s Internet freedom rally came together, and explained the organizing role his political party played. We talked a bit about the Russian Libertarian Party and its relationship with Telegram founder Pavel Durov and opposi...
2018-05-0224 min
The Russia GuyE39: Pensions and TelegramIn this episode, Kevin discusses three stories: (1) the structure of Russia’s pension system and the ongoing problems with keeping it funded, (2) two reports by different media monitoring groups that study traffic on Telegram, and finally (3) why it is that the Russian authorities have failed to keep so many Russian Internet users from accessing Telegram.For more on these issues, see the following articles:“The Russian pension system's 2018 deficit will be twice as big as predicted”https://meduza.io/en/news/2018/04/25/the-russian-pension-system-s-2018-deficit-will-be-twice-as-big-as-predicted“Media monitoring website says traffic to Telegram channels dropped 76.5 percent after Russia blocked the app”https://me...
2018-04-2510 min
The Russia GuyE38: Yasha Levine on TelegramToday’s podcast guest is Yasha Levine, an investigative journalist and the author of the new book “Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet,” which offers a new look at the little-discussed genesis of the very thing that brings my voice to your ears: the Internet. What did Yasha and Kevin discuss? You guessed it: Russia’s block of Telegram. Some highlights:*The concepts of “national information security” and “digital sovereignty” *How we ought to know whom to trust when it comes to keeping our online correspondence private*The role American tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple are playing in t...
2018-04-1723 min
The Russia GuyE37: Nikita Likhachev on TelegramRussia has finally blocked Telegram! In this episode, Kevin spoke to Tjournal.ru's chief editor, Nikita Likhachev, to learn more about this story.Some things Nikita discussed:*Technically speaking, how will Roskomnadzor block Telegram?*Will Russia order Google and Apple to remove Telegram from their app stores?*What will most Telegram users in Russia do? Will they bother with VPN technologies?If you enjoy this podcast, consider pledging a little dough to help with sound recording, editing, and hosting costs:www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2018-04-1318 min
The Russia GuyE36: Nataliya VasilyevaIn this episode, Kevin spoke to Nataliya Vasilyeva, who works as a Moscow correspondent for the Associated Press. Nataliya is one of the most talented reporters working the Russia beat today, and you’ve probably reading her work, maybe without even knowing it. Last December, she managed to obtain a copy of a 47-page contract between a firm linked to Evgeny Prigozhin and Syria’s state-owned General Petroleum Corporation, which granted the Russian company a quarter of the proceeds from oil and gas production at fields its contractors — the Wagner private military company — capture and secure from ISIS militants. https://apnews.c...
2018-04-1230 min
The Russia GuyE36: Nataliya VasilyevaIn this episode, Kevin spoke to Nataliya Vasilyeva, who works as a Moscow correspondent for the Associated Press. Nataliya is one of the most talented reporters working the Russia beat today, and you’ve probably reading her work, maybe without even knowing it. Last December, she managed to obtain a copy of a 47-page contract between a firm linked to Evgeny Prigozhin and Syria’s state-owned General Petroleum Corporation, which granted the Russian company a quarter of the proceeds from oil and gas production at fields its contractors — the Wagner private military company — capture and secure from ISIS militants. https://apnews.c...
2018-04-1230 min
The Russia GuyE35: Neil Hauer on Russia in SyriaIn this episode, Kevin spoke to Neil Hauer, an independent analyst and journalist based in Tbilisi, Georgia, who focuses on Syria, Russia, and the North Caucasus, to learn more about the chemical weapons attack in Syria that provoked the latest tensions between Washington and Moscow. He discussed evidence and the military situation that led us here, as well as Russia’s threat to shoot down American missiles fired at targets in Syria. Neil also talked about Russian personnel on the ground and the risks of U.S. bombs claiming Russian lives. Follow Neil Hauer on Twitter:https://twitter.com/NeilPHauerIf yo...
2018-04-1121 min
The Russia GuyE34: RIP RuNet, Pt. 9000Today Kevin looks at some wild draft legislation just submitted to the State Duma that would give Russia its latest unenforceable Internet regulations. The draft law in question is actually a rewritten version of legislation introduced last summer that was supposed to require social networks to delete any “illegal content.” The new version of this law is basically the same thing, with some added provisions against “fake news” and even cussing.So what are you going to learn in this episode of the podcast? *The main points of the new draft legislation*Why these new regulations would be significant*How the Russ...
2018-04-0913 min
The Russia GuyE33: Andrew RothHowdy, folks! On today’s episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin interviews Andrew Roth, The Guardian’s new Moscow bureau chief, and a reporter who’s written previously for The Washington Post and The New York Times.In this interview, you’ll learn how Andrew Roth got into the business of reporting on Russia. I asked him about his upbringing, his education, and especially about his early days as a journalist in Russia. We also talked about the lifestyle and quality of living foreign correspondents enjoy in Moscow today, and about the news agenda as it exists in Russia and in the W...
2018-04-0433 min
The Russia GuyE32: Moscow's Trash UprisingThis episode of The Russia Guy focuses on trash and the nightmare it’s created in towns surrounding Moscow, where locals have been staging protests on and off for weeks and months in different places, in response to an apparent ecological disaster that seems to be spiraling out of control.What are you going to learn on this episode of The Russia Guy? Kevin reviews “garbage riots” in six districts surrounding Moscow, looking at the reported sizes of these demonstrations and what tactics activists are using to stand up to their local officials.If you're interested in this story...
2018-03-2811 min
The Russia GuyE31: Ben Noble on the State DumaIn today’s episode, Kevin spoke to Ben Noble, a lecturer in Russian politics at University College London in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, who researches legislatures in non-democracies.In this interview, Kevin asked Ben what he means when he says Russian members of parliament “can serve as pawns in proxy skirmishes between non-legislative actors.” Ben also talked about how he gets all his information about bureaucratic infighting at the Duma, and what actors and agencies tend to win these clashes of politics by other means. Finally, he discussed the likely consequences of the partial media boycott on the...
2018-03-2628 min
The Russia GuyE31: Ben Noble on the State DumaIn today’s episode, Kevin spoke to Ben Noble, a lecturer in Russian politics at University College London in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, who researches legislatures in non-democracies.In this interview, Kevin asked Ben what he means when he says Russian members of parliament “can serve as pawns in proxy skirmishes between non-legislative actors.” Ben also talked about how he gets all his information about bureaucratic infighting at the Duma, and what actors and agencies tend to win these clashes of politics by other means. Finally, he discussed the likely consequences of the partial media boycott on the...
2018-03-2628 min
The Russia GuyE30: Alexey Kovalev on the Slutsky ScandalIn this episode, Kevin spoke again to friend-of-the-show Alexey Kovalev, an investigative journalist in Russia. We discussed the latest developments in the scandal surrounding State Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky, who was exonerated this past week by the Ethics Committee, despite accusations by multiple women journalists who say he sexually harassed them at different times over the past several years. The committee’s decision, as well as the insulting questions its members asked two of Slutsky’s victims during their inquiry, have enraged the Russian news media and provoked a boycott by dozens of outlets on reporting at the State Duma.What...
2018-03-2445 min
The Russia GuyE29: The Putin Campaign's BankrollersIn this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin discusses a new Meduza-OCCRP investigative report about the secretive groups funding Vladimir Putin's re-election campaign.Questions asked and answered in this episode:* What does it mean that Putin’s re-election campaign is funding itself through nonprofit foundations affiliated with United Russia? Is that any different than how he’s always done it?* What are these foundations, and how are they connected to influential political players like billionaire Gennady Timchenko and Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyev?* How does the central organization responsible for funding the Putin campaign’s warchest respond to allegations that i...
2018-03-1419 min
The Russia GuyE28: Alexey Kovalev on Putin's ReelectionIn this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin spoke to investigative reporter Alexey Kovalev to learn more about Russia’s upcoming presidential race, voter mobilization efforts, voter apathy, and Vladimir Putin’s pre-Election Day media blitz.In this episode, you'll hear an except from Fabrika's pro-Putin pop song “Vova Vova.” You can watch the NSFW music video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95VTlKr6pZs&t=42sYou can follow Alexey on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Alexey__KovalevIf you enjoy this podcast, consider pledging some of your hard-earned money through Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrockSupport the show...
2018-03-1420 min
The Russia GuyE27: Slava Malamud on the KHLOn March 7, following the controversial overtime defeat of the ice hockey team Severstal Cherepovets by SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL conference quarterfinals, sports writer Slava Malamud penned a 21-tweet thread arguing that not just the game or the series, but the whole KHL season has essentially been rigged by Vladimir Putin’s cronies to ensure that his hometown team wins this year's Gagarin Cup championship.In this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin spoke to Malamud to learn more about this year's “fixed” KHL season.Follow Slava Malamud on Twitter:https://twitter.com/SlavaMalamudAnd send me mon...
2018-03-0926 min
The Russia GuyE26: Sexual Harassment in Russia's ParliamentSexual harassment allegations are gaining steam against Leonid Slutsky, the unbeautifully named head of the State Duma’s committee on foreign affairs. In this episode of The Russia Guy, Kevin asks and answers the following three questions:*Who exactly has accused Leonid Slutsky of what exactly?*How have Slutsky’s colleagues in the legislature responded to the allegations?*What legal recourse do journalists in Russia have against sexual harassment?As always, don't forget to check out Meduza's coverage of this story, which you can find in several articles, including but not limited to:https://meduza.io/en/f...
2018-03-0811 min
The Russia GuyE24: Putin's New NukesOn March 1, Vladimir Putin gave his annual state-of-the-nation address, devoting a significant part of his speech to a presentation of Russia’s latest weapons, including nuclear missiles. “Nobody listened to us before. Well listen up now,” the president said. Meduza asked several Russian political and security experts to explain why Putin demonstrated all these weapons and what the speech means for his next presidential term.In this episode, Kevin summarizes and comments on the expert interpretations reported by Meduza. Some questions asked and answered here: Who was Putin’s intended audience? Why does Putin feel the need to threaten the United S...
2018-03-0210 min
The Russia GuyE20: Going VerticalIn this episode, Kevin discusses “Going Vertical,” a new Russian blockbuster film about the USSR's 1972 Olympic basketball defeat of the United States, which was both an upset and upsetting to the Americans, who refused to accept silver medals, arguing that the game ended unfairly. This episode features audio clips from the film and from the actual game. Meduza also spoke to several of the 1972 team's members, including two of their widows, who have not exactly welcomed the new movie.https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/01/12/miracle-on-mapleSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2018-01-1312 min
The Russia GuyE19: Kimberly ZenzIn this third installment of The Russia Guy's interview series with professionals in the expert community specializing on Russia, Kevin spoke to Kimberly Zenz, a senior international threat intelligence researcher at the Deutsche Cyber-Sicherheitsorganisation (German Cyber Security Organization) who's spent more than a decade working on Russian cybercrime. If you're a student of Russian area studies and want to know more about the career opportunities Kimberly describes in this interview, she encourages you to reach out on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kimberlytzenzSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2018-01-0420 min
The Russia GuyE18: Nina JankowiczBehold the second guest in The Russia Guy's new interview series: Nina Jankowicz, an expert in disinformation and democracy promotion in Eastern Europe. Kevin found out how she got into Think Tank Land and asked her just what it means to work toward democratic aims, both abroad and at home.You can follow her on the Twitters here:https://twitter.com/wiczipediaShe also runs a whole newsletter for your education and edification enjoyment. You can sign up at her website here:https://tinyletter.com/wiczipediaAnd you can read her Fulbright paper about Russian disinformation here (it's...
2017-12-2144 min
The Russia GuyE17: Aric TolerToday's the first in The Russia Guy's new interview series. Kevin sat down (remotely. don't read too much into that word) with Aric Toler, one of Bellingcat's top analysts and the lead Eastern Europe digital researcher at DFR Lab, to find out how he got into the Russia expertise biz, and what life is like in the open-source intelligence world.Follow him on Twitter, y'all.https://twitter.com/AricTolerSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-12-1929 min
The Russia GuyE16: False Flags! Treason! Hacker Conspiracy!Kevin discusses three stories in this episode:A conspiracy theory says the FSB leaked a hacker's confession to incriminate the U.S. government in the DNC hack!https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/12/12/new-information-about-russian-officials-orchestrating-the-dnc-hack-could-be-designed-to-pin-the-cyber-attack-on-the-u-s-governmentRelated to this story, see Ellen Nakashima's WaPo report:https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/court-document-points-to-kaspersky-labs-cooperation-with-russian-security-service/2017/12/13/14ba9450-df42-11e7-bbd0-9dfb2e37492a_story.html?tid=ss_tw&utm_term=.5290e4ad429aThese religious traditionalists make for awful posterboys, if tolerance is your thing.https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/12/11/a-moscow-university-student-is-attacked-and-forced-to-apologize-on-camera-for-offending-muslims-christians-and-all-women-by-criticizing-sexist-traditionsRussian media monitoring and censorship explained.https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/12/13/a-hybrid-hunt-for-criminal-journalists
2017-12-1325 min
The Russia GuyE15: Dumb Americans and Crazy Anti-SemitesKevin commits Internet treason by criticizing his own country, moaning about Washington's inability to live up to its own word about FARA registration not interfering with media outlets' work. Then he moves on to moaning about the Russian Orthodox Church's weird obsession with an old and ugly conspiracy theory about Jews murdering the Romanovs in a “ritual killing.”How the U.S. says it treats ‘foreign agent’ journalists versus what it actually doeshttps://meduza.io/en/short/2017/11/30/how-the-u-s-says-it-treats-foreign-agent-journalists-versus-what-it-actually-doesFederal investigators have reopened the Tsar Nicholas II murder case, and the Russian Orthodox Church wants them to consider...
2017-12-0121 min
The Russia GuyE14: Internet Sovereignty for BRICS and Raised Eyebrows for BastrykinKevin's back and he's talking about four stories today:Russia's Security Council tells the government to develop a separate Internet for the BRICShttps://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/28/russia-s-security-council-tells-the-government-to-develop-a-separate-internet-for-the-bricsThe Russian Investigative Committee's ‘Jewish problem’https://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/29/the-russian-investigative-committee-s-jewish-problemNavalny's supporters accuse Ksenia Sobchak's campaign of inflating its support online, but her team says it has network TV to thankhttps://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/28/navalny-s-supporters-accuse-ksenia-sobchak-s-campaign-of-inflating-its-support-online-but-her-team-says-it-has-network-tv-to-thank‘I won the role when the FSB needed to cast its next victim’ Meduza interviews the Polish historian deported from Russiahttps://meduza.io/en/feature...
2017-11-2915 min
The Russia GuyE13: Russians lose faith in U.S. journalism and RT registers under FARAIn this episode, Kevin reviews Oleg Kashin's recent op-ed savaging the Western media's coverage of RussiaGate stories, which he says has robbed the country's young political culture of a celestial constellation (deep, right??). Kevin also reviews the hilarity of Russia Today's foreign-agent registration documents in the U.S.Kashin's op-ed, in Englishhttps://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/11/13/the-day-russians-stopped-believing-the-western-mediaFor more on RT's FARA docshttps://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/14/rt-s-american-subsidiary-told-the-u-s-justice-department-that-it-doesn-t-know-where-its-money-comes-from-in-russiaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock) Get full access to The Russia Guy at kevinrothrock.substack.com/subscribe
2017-11-1417 min
The Russia GuyE13: Russians lose faith in U.S. journalism and RT registers under FARAIn this episode, Kevin reviews Oleg Kashin's recent op-ed savaging the Western media's coverage of RussiaGate stories, which he says has robbed the country's young political culture of a celestial constellation (deep, right??). Kevin also reviews the hilarity of Russia Today's foreign-agent registration documents in the U.S.Kashin's op-ed, in Englishhttps://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/11/13/the-day-russians-stopped-believing-the-western-mediaFor more on RT's FARA docshttps://meduza.io/en/news/2017/11/14/rt-s-american-subsidiary-told-the-u-s-justice-department-that-it-doesn-t-know-where-its-money-comes-from-in-russiaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-11-1417 min
The Russia GuyE12: Putin's Sandwich Buddy and Some Damn Good ReportingAfter several weeks of silence, Kevin is back with a look at Evgeny Prigozhin, “Putin's favorite chef,” to talk troll factory, procurement deals, and American shortsightedness. He's also going to gab about two very fine pieces of original reporting — one very long, and the other not as much.For background about Mr. Prigozhin:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2016/06/13/evgeny-prigozhin-s-right-to-be-forgottenFor a summary of Navalny's May 2017 research on Prigozhin's "cartel":https://themoscowtimes.com/news/navalny-unmasks-a-cartel-allegedly-earning-billions-in-defense-contracts-58049For Sasha Sulim's epic work on the North Caucasus:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/31/guilty-by-bloodFor Mikhai...
2017-11-0431 min
The Russia GuyE11: Russia's Troll FactoryToday (Oct. 15), Kevin discuss an interview published hours ago with a former member of St. Petersburg's infamous Internet Research Agency.Read Meduza's summary of the interview in English here:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/15/an-ex-st-petersburg-troll-speaks-outOr read Dozhd's original text (in Russian, paywalled):https://tvrain.ru/teleshow/bremja_novostej/fabrika-447628/Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-10-1610 min
The Russia GuyE10: Help Wanted in Grozny and American Sleeper AgentsToday (Oct. 13), Kevin talks about Russian Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin's prickly, revealing outburst at an academic conference. He also reviews a new Russian TV show all about American “sleeper agents” in Moscow. It's called “Sleepers” (not “The Russians”).Bastrykin's outbursthttps://meduza.io/en/news/2017/10/13/russia-s-investigative-committee-chief-seems-a-little-desperate-in-chechnyaMeduza's review of “Sleepers”https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/13/there-s-a-new-spy-drama-on-russian-tv-about-american-sleeper-agentsSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-10-1316 min
The Russia GuyE09: Who Watches the Watchmen? and ‘Foreign Agents’ EverywhereToday (Oct. 11), Kevin looks at a developing scandal involving top officials from Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal censor, and the still-escalating “foreign agent” conflict in the U.S. and Russian news media.Russia's Justice Ministry threatens ‘special restrictions’ on the work of U.S. journalistshttps://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/11/russia-s-justice-ministry-threatens-special-restrictions-on-the-work-of-u-s-journalistsSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-10-1116 min
The Russia GuyE08: An Embarrassing Interview, Banning U.S. Media, Navalny Protests, and Russia's YouthArmyToday (Oct. 6), Kevin talks about a ridiculous interview by the new U.S. ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman; rumors circulate that Moscow might ban American media outlets outright; Navalny plans nationwide protests on Oct. 7; and Meduza's new deep-dive report on “YouthArmy,” a “military-patriotic movement” created with support from the Defense Ministry.The Huntsman interview: https://twitter.com/foxandfriends/status/916252874622906371Police vs. Navalny activists:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/06/how-russia-s-cops-and-oppositionists-are-preparing-for-saturday-s-nationwide-protestsMeet the ‘YouthArmy,’ Russia's new hope for military-patriotic education:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/06/making-real-men-out-of-schoolchildrenSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-10-0717 min
The Russia GuyE07: Putin's Answer, Osetinskaya's Stanford Experiment, and Russia's Lousy EmmysOn today's episode (Oct. 4), Kevin talks about this Putin quote: “I still haven’t decided if I’ll run at all, let alone against whom I’ll run.” He also summarizes a new interview with Russian media star Elizaveta Osetinskaya, and looks at five fake stories reported by Russia's “best evening news program” and “best analytical review program.”The Osetinskaya interview: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/04/russia-is-trending-in-america-but-expertise-is-in-short-supplyThe TEFIs roundup: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/04/this-is-what-earns-emmys-in-russiaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-10-0415 min
The Russia GuyE06: Jailed Navalny, Jilted Military Families, and a Robbed MomToday (Oct. 2), Kevin discusses three stories: Alexey Navalny's return to jail (and world headlines); a long report on how the Russian govt is saving money by denying compensation payments to dead soldiers' families; and how social workers in Yekaterinburg seized a woman's two adopted kids after her elective double mastectomy.How Alexey Navalny and his campaign manager landed in jail again for another 20 dayshttps://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/10/03/how-alexey-navalny-and-his-campaign-manager-landed-in-jail-again-for-another-20-daysDead but not killed: How the Russian government is saving money by denying compensation payments to dead soldiers' familieshttps://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/09/29/dead-but-not-killedRussian social...
2017-10-0315 min
The Russia GuyE05 — Banning RT and Hiring Robots to ParentOn today's episode of The Russia Guy(Sept. 28, 2017), Kevin talks about a new op-ed by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and a weird new “parental control” service offered by a Russian tech company specializing in big data.McFaul's op-ed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2017/09/28/enough-is-enough-how-to-stop-russias-cyber-interference/?utm_term=.ead20f0639acMeduza's story on “Parental Control”: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2017/09/28/better-us-than-the-fsbSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-09-2911 min
The Russia GuyEpisode 04 — Russian Disinformation and CIA Rubber DuckiesIn today's episode (recorded Sept. 26), Kevin discusses the “Straight Out of the Kremlin’s Toolkit: Strategies of State Actors” panel at the Atlantic Council's “StratComDC” conference, and a ridiculous defense by the city of Izhevsk against Alexey Navalny's presidential campaign.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-09-2610 min
The Russia GuyEpisode 03On today's episode, Kevin talks about a really gross crime story out of Krasnodar (involving cannibals and maybe the worst selfies ever), a film review of “Matilda” (Russia's most controversial movie in years), and the Russian government's weird, love-hate fascination with Telegram channels.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)
2017-09-2613 min