Hanna Notte returns to the show for a conversation with Max and Maria about what the most recent round of hostilities between Israel and Iran, plus the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, mean for Russia's own Middle Eastern strategy. This conversation was recorded on June 25, 2025. "Russia no longer needs Iran's help to sustain the war in Ukraine," by Hanna Notte (June 2025, Financial Times) "Why Isn't Russia Defending Iran?" by Hanna Notte (June 2025, The Atlantic)
Jun 27, 2025•37 min
Max moderated a live panel discussion with Maria, and two leading experts on the Russian economy, Elina Ribakova and Vladislav Inozemtsev. The conversation focused on the findings of the recent report from the CSIS Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, "The Russian Wartime Economy: From Sugar High to Hangover."
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 29 min
Max and Maria get another update from military expert Mike Kofman on the state of the frontlines in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on June 11, 2025. "The Russian Wartime Economy: From Sugar High to Hangover" by Maria Snegovaya, Nicholas Fenton, Tina Dolbaia, and Max Bergmann (June 2025, CSIS.org) "Russia's Battlefield Woes in Ukraine" by Seth Jones and Riely McCabe (June 2025, CSIS.org) "Assessing Russian Military Adaptation in 2023" by Michael Kofman (October 2024, Carnegie Endowment f...
Jun 20, 2025•49 min
Elina Ribakova returned to the show to speak with Max and Maria about the evolution of the Ukrainian economy since February 2022.
Jun 03, 2025•37 min
Max and Maria spoke with Edward Fishman about his bestselling book, Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare.
May 16, 2025•53 min
Max and Maria welcome Michael Kimmage back to the show to provide his analysis of the ongoing U.S.-led negotiations to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. "What if America Abandons Ukraine?" by Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage (Foreign Affairs, May 2025). "The Zeitenwende Is Real This Time," by Michael Kimmage and Sudha David-Wilp (Foreign Affairs, April 2025).
May 02, 2025•47 min
Maria spoke with journalist Keith Gessen and scholar Bryn Rosenfeld about their work trying to make sense of Russian public opinion towards the war in Ukraine, and what it means for our understanding of Russian society today.
Apr 23, 2025•57 min
In this special CSIS crossover episode with Russian Roulette’s sister podcast, The Eurofile, Max Bergmann and co-host Donatienne Ruy welcome Tom Wright, senior fellow at Brookings and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the United States National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden administration, to discuss his recent article in Foreign Affairs outlining a U.S. strategy for Russia-Ukraine negotiations. The interview covers the current state of play in negotiations, Trump and Biden’...
Apr 04, 2025•41 min
Maria spoke with Kate Bondar and Sam Bendett about their work on the latest drone and artificial intelligence technologies being employed on the battlefield in Ukraine. Read Kate's latest report, "Ukraine’s Future Vision and Current Capabilities for Waging AI-Enabled Autonomous Warfare" at CSIS.org.
Apr 03, 2025•47 min
Max and Maria welcomed Rose Gottemoeller back to the show, to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. As a former American diplomat who has sat across from the Russians to negotiate international treaties, she shared her insights about what she is watching as this process unfolds. This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Mar 17, 2025•33 min
Maria was joined by Tinatin Japaridze and Volodymyr Dubovyk to discuss how post-Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine and the states of the South Caucasus, are reckoning with the Trump administration's positions on the war in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 7, 2025.
Mar 11, 2025•41 min
Max and Maria sat down with Michael Kimmage and Dara Massicot for an event in the CSIS studio to discuss the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conversation took stock of the current situation on the battlefield, the state of affairs within Russia and Ukraine right now, and the diplomatic prospects for the kind of negotiated settlement currently being advocated for by the Trump administration. This conversation was recorded on February 20, 2025. The full video...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Max and Maria were recently joined by Michael Kimmage and Jeffrey Mankoff for a live event in the CSIS broadcast studio to discuss the team's recent work outlining a new European strategy for containing Russia. This conversation was recorded on January 30, 2025. For a video recording of this event, please go to CSIS.org.
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 5 min
On today's episode, Max and Maria give their initial takes on the news that U.S. and Russian negotiators met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18 to begin efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine, notably without representatives from Ukraine or European nations present. This episode was recorded on February 18, as this story was still developing.
Feb 20, 2025•28 min
Max and Maria spoke with historian Sergey Radchenko about his latest book, To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power, and how the study of Soviet foreign policy can help us understand Russia's current approach to global affairs. Sergey's book is available for purchase from Cambridge University Press.
Feb 06, 2025•43 min
Maria spoke with Hanna Notte and Natasha Hall about the new balance of forces in the Middle East at the start of 2025, and what the current geopolitical situation in the region means for Russia.
Jan 23, 2025•48 min
Max and Maria were joined by Dr. Sam Greene to reflect on a quarter century of Putinism in Russia, how Vladimir Putin's rule has changed the country, and where his regime might be headed from here. Follow Sam's writing on Substack by subscribing to his blog, TL;DRussia.
Jan 10, 2025•34 min
Max and Maria were joined by Russian military expert Michael Kofman to discuss where the war in Ukraine may be headed in the year to come. With a new administration in Washington and political turmoil across Europe, Russia continuing to make grinding gains on the battlefield, and calls for some sort of negotiated settlement rising, the next six months could prove critical to the future direction of the conflict. This conversation was recorded live in the CSIS Brack Studio on December 12, 2024. T...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Max and Maria speak with Dara Massicot, one of the leading experts on the Russian military and the war in Ukraine. Dara gives updates on the efforts of both sides to make gains on the battlefield, along with the current risks of escalation as we head into 2025. This conversation was recorded on December 3, 2024.
Dec 06, 2024•37 min
Max and Maria speak with Michael Kimmage to take stock of the impact of the recent U.S. elections on the future of the war in Ukraine, and U.S. policy towards Russia. "An Outcome 'Up for Grabs': What Can Russia and Ukraine Expect from the Next U.S. Administration?" by Maria Snegovaya, Tina Dolbaia, and Nick Fenton (Center for Strategic and International Studies)
Nov 15, 2024•42 min
Max and Maria spoke with Sorin Ioniță and Eto Buziashvili about the recent election results coming out of Moldova and Georgia. Both of these post-Soviet states find themselves at a geopolitical crossroads, with Russian malign influence campaigns directly impacting their domestic politics.
Nov 01, 2024•38 min
Max and Maria with Ben Cahill and Eddie Fishman about the current state of Russia's energy industry, and the prospects for the country's lucrative hydrocarbon exports. They also assessed the impacts of Western sanctions on the industry to date and ways those sanctions could potentially be tightened going forward. This conversation was recorded on October 7, 2024. Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare by Edward Fishman is available for pre-order now (Penguin Random House).
Oct 17, 2024•43 min
This week, Maria sat down with Sergey Aleksashenko and Alexandra Prokopenko to discuss the Russian central bank's continued inability to reign in domestic inflation, and what it means for Russia's economy and war effort going forward.
Oct 04, 2024•43 min
On this week's episode, Max and Maria are joined by Andrea Kendall-Taylor to discuss Russian collaboration with China, Iran, and North Korea, and the key role that these partnerships are playing in sustaining Russia's invasion of Ukraine and post-2022 foreign policy strategy. "The Axis of Upheaval: How America's Adversaries Are Uniting to Overturn the Global Order," by Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Richard Fontaine (Foreign Affairs)
Sep 23, 2024•32 min
This week, Max and Maria were joined by military analysts Michael Kofman and Rob Lee to discuss the latest phase of the war in Ukraine. Max and Maria asked them for their thoughts on the ongoing Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, and whether or not this seizure of Russian territory by Kyiv exposes Russian threats of escalation as hollow. If they are hollow, does that mean Western "red lines" on certain kinds of aid to Ukraine should be reassessed? "Ukraine's Gamble: The Risks and Rewards of the Offen...
Sep 09, 2024•56 min
Max and Maria sat down with Sam Bendett and Mick Ryan to discuss the Ukrainian military's recent seizure of territory in Kursk Oblast, inside Russia. They discussed how this attack took place, the risks and potential gains at stake for the Ukrainian side, and what this could all mean for the war going forward. Check out Mick's latest book, "The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire." All royalties from the book will be donated to support the Ukrainian war effort.
Aug 23, 2024•37 min
This week, Maria sat down with investigative journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan. Andrei and Irina gave their analysis of the recent high-profile Russia-West prisoner swap, and also discussed the threat of Russian hybrid attacks on Western countries. Additionally, they described the complex relationship between the Russian state and the Russian community in emigration, and outlined how the Kremlin views Russian émigrés as both a threat, and a potential source of intelligence opportunit...
Aug 12, 2024•44 min
Max and Maria sat down with Jade McGlynn to discuss her recent report for CSIS, "Crossing Thresholds: Ukrainian Resistance to Russian Occupation." "Crossing Thresholds: Ukrainian Resistance to Russian Occupation," by Jade McGlynn on CSIS.org. "The Ukrainian resistance is torching Putin's dreams of conquest," by Jade McGlynn for The Telegraph.
Jul 29, 2024•41 min
On this week's episode, Max and Michael Kimmage sat down with Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Institute, to discuss Dmitri's recent book, "World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century." Recorded on July 2, 2024, the conversation covers the geopolitical parallels between the European and Indo-Pacific theaters today, and what the dual strategic challenges emanating from Moscow and Beijing mean for Western policymakers. SHOW NOTES: Check o...
Jul 11, 2024•45 min
Maria recently sat down with sanctions expert Eddie Fishman and economist Sergey Aleksashenko to provide a timely update on the evolving sanctions regime leveled against Russia. (Recorded on June 18, 2024.)
Jun 27, 2024•48 min
