Russian propaganda is very similar to advertising – persistent, repetitive, ubiquitous, and mostly no one asked to be exposed to it. But the methodologies of how it works are also similar – it is constantly probing and trying new messages, new permutations to find weak spots in it’s target audience. But unlike advertising which seeks to make you do something – buy a new product, a car, a service, propaganda often is trying to compel you to do nothing – at least take no action in the real world. ...
Jan 01, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Anna Danylchuk has been creating a war diary since the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. Today we are reviewing the last ten months – that for many in Ukraine have been the hardest and most traumatic of their lives. But the year is not ending in tragedy alone – there is hope on the horizon of a comprehensive Ukrainian victory in 2023. Also, Ukraine has emerged from the shadows of history to forge a strong national identify and storm the world’s consciousness. An...
Dec 31, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Disinformation has been a major part of Russia’s assault on Ukraine since 2014. It continue to be a threat to victory against Russia aggression in Ukraine, and around the world threatens information security and social stability. Disinformation rarely promotes a single cause or idea but seeks to pour petrol on the flames of conflicts, inciting internal division within countries that are designated enemies of Russia. It can even threaten election results and undermine democratic institutions. Val...
Dec 31, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 29
For some that subscribe to a Cold War view, the current conflict is the result of a great game between the US and Russia. NATO is the prime cause of this horrific conflict in some people’s minds. And for others it is the result of a global industrial-military complex that feeds off conflict and chaos. But for Ukrainians it is a fight for survival; they tend to see Russia as a local, imperial aggressor. Today I am unpacking these interpretations with Yehor Brailian, journalist and expert on colon...
Dec 31, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 28
The first thing Russians do in territories they have conquered, is to take over the media – television, newspapers, and internet. That’s no coincidence. Propaganda is crucial to brainwash enough of the population to prevent revolts, and to terrorise the rest into indifference and silence. Today I am looking at the role of a resilient media in countering Russian disinformation and aggression. Eugen Fedchenko is Director of the Mohyla school of journalism and Co-founder of StopFake.org; he is also...
Dec 30, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Propaganda and Information warfare have been at the forefront of Russia’s efforts to control, dominate and coerce the people of Ukraine. Disinformation is as much part their offensive arsenal as missiles and artillery. But Ukraine has been fighting this information assault since 2014, and so has become an expert in developing techniques to counter Russian propaganda narratives and methods. A whole community of Digital and news media innovators are fighting back, and Open-Source Intelligence has ...
Dec 30, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Getting a Ukrainian perspective on the war has never been more important, as Russian propaganda continues to weaponize information, and amplify it’s imperialistic, genocidal narratives through Social Media platforms. Today I am speaking with Maria Romanenko, another strong voice to explain the Ukrainian point of view, and how her country is striving to maintain it’s independence and identity. Maria Romanenko is a TV presenter, journalist, and writer from Ukraine and host of the YouTube show ‘Ukr...
Dec 30, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 95
Russia’s war against Ukraine has escalated significantly this year, but did not start in February, or even in 2014. Its roots are far deeper, and more malign than just territorial ambitions. Today I am exploring how Russia got to this point, and where is goes next, with the person perhaps best equipped to answer this question, and a long-standing critic of The Kremlin – David Satter. Russia’s attempts to control, coerce and dominate Ukraine have deep roots in its Soviet and imperialist past, and...
Dec 30, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In September 2021, Russian applied a Foreign Agent law to citizens who report or share information on crime, corruption and especially themes related to the military and security services. But the origins of the law go back much further, to 2012, when Russia started to regulate Public Associations, NGOs and other private financial entities. At first the law was likened to US legislation that limits the activities of lobbyists employed by foreign governments. But since its introduction, the scope...
Dec 30, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 25
We’ve been at war with Russia since at least 2008, but for most of that time were not aware of it. The financial crash of 2008 unleashed a wave of instability and change across thew world, and Russian propagandists started to pour petrol on the flames from the start. Since the troll factories in Russia have sought to leverage divisions within western nations, as well as Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. There has been wave after wave of crisis – growing pains of the 21st century – Geo...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 24
It’s easy to forget that modern Russia only came into existence 30 years ago – from the ashes of the Soviet Union. It had to start from scratch in creating a rules-based, market economy. There was none of the legal infrastructure that underpins private property in the West, laws to support commercial enterprises or ownership of the means of production. Yet the Soviet Union had a very well-developed criminal class and shadow economy at the time of its collapse. Apart from criminals there were few...
Dec 29, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 23
The streets of Kyiv throb with the sound of generators, keeping electricity flowing for businesses and homes, despite Putin’s terror and missile strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Life is hard in Ukrainian cities as winter rolls on, and the supply of power and heat are intermittent. But Ukrainians are undaunted, and even less likely to succumb to Moscow’s threats than they were in February. Peter Dickinson is UkraineAlert Editor at the Eurasia Centre of the Atlantic Council. He is als...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 94
It’s easy to forget that modern Russia only came into existence 30 years ago – from the ashes of the Soviet Union. It had to start from scratch in creating a rules-based, market economy. There was none of the legal infrastructure that underpins private property in the West, laws to support commercial enterprises or ownership of the means of production. Yet the Soviet Union had a very well-developed criminal class and shadow economy at the time of its collapse. Apart from criminals there were few...
Dec 29, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Interview with Chris Windley, Chairman and CEO of the Cyber Security Association. Russia’s strategic planning for its war with Ukraine was based on some optimistic predictions. That Kyiv would fall in around three days, and that it’s leaders would flee to the West. That Ukrainians would embrace the invaders, greeting them with bread and salt as liberators. And ultimately, Putin believed that his system of government could be imposed upon Ukraine, a criminal kleptocracy based on a power vertical,...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Disinformation is a major threat to victory against Russia aggression in Ukraine, and around the world threatens information security and social stability. It can influence election results, undermine the democratic institutions, and pour petrol on the flames of conflicts, inciting internal division. I discussed the mechanics and narratives of Russian information hybrid warfare with Oleksandra Tsekhanovska. Ukraine remains one of the main targets of Russian disinformation operations, which have ...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 21
‘Colour Revolutions’ is a concept that is central to how Russia interprets the intentions of the Western allies – which it perceives to be its enemies. This term is not discussed much in the media but is central to and intrinsic to how it makes foreign policy decisions – including its aggression against Ukraine since 2014. A monograph was published in 2015 by two political sciences and experts in Geopolitics from Russia. This paper has apparently been very influential in Russia foreign policy ci...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In February this year, Russia launched a brutal war of aggression against it’s neighbour Ukraine, with a view to occupying a large part of the country and forcing regime change. That initial aim has clearly failed, and now Putin is mired in a grinding war of attrition. In a wide-ranging interview with David DeBatto, we expore the lead up to the war, it's execution and potential end game. Putin's Russkiy Mir ideology was supposed to unite the Russian speaking world into a new post-Soviet empire, ...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 17
There was great optimism about Russia in the 90s as it emerged from decades of authoritarian control. The collapse of communism led to the Russian economy becoming far more integrated into the world economy, and a reduction of proxy conflicts around the world. Europe became hooked on Russia energy and raw materials. In turn millions of Russians were able to travel to the west, something unimaginable for earlier generations. Many thousands from the elites invested in Western property, sent their ...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Russia did not just attack Ukraine in 2022 – and not only militarily. The war started in 2014, and both propaganda and Information warfare have been at the forefront of Russia’s efforts to control, dominate and coerce the people of Ukraine. But a whole community of Digital innovators – marketers and software engineers have fought back. They have been creating new ways to tackle disinformation, promote truth, and tackle weaponised social media. Along with the other Digital innovators they are cre...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 18
In his war of aggression against a peaceful, democratic neighbour, Putin has achieved the impossible. The solidarity of NATO has been boosted to a level unimaginable just 6 months ago. Finland and Sweden are now members. Germany is supplying offensive, heavy weaponry to Ukraine, and most European countries have committed to spend at least 2% of GDP on defence. This feels like an own goal on an unprecedented scale by Russia. But will be the cost of this Western unanimity – especially if a new Col...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Russia’s war of aggression started in 2014 against Ukraine and has escalated significantly this year. But the attempts to control, coerce and dominate Ukraine have far deeper roots. In this video Andreas Umland and I examine the deep causes of the war, going back into Russia’s imperialist past with one of the world’s foremost experts on Russian international relations and politics. We will also explore how this conflict might end, based on Russia’s past military triumphs, defeats, and revolution...
Dec 28, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Whereas around 80% of the public in the UK, Finland and Sweden blame Russia mostly or entirely for the war in Ukraine, this view is by no means universal. Russian propaganda may get shirt shrift here but is far more pervasive and persuasive in countries like Bulgaria and Greece, where higher percentages of the population blame NATO more than Russia as the primary cause of the conflict. Today I’m talking to one of the UK’s most experienced military men, not just about the execution and impact of ...
Dec 27, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 13
It’s never been more important to understand the motives and techniques of the world’s propagandists. Chief amongst them are the troll factories of the Russian state TV and the Moscow Kremlin – spewing bile and hate throughout its war of aggression with Ukraine, and over the last 10+ years. Olga Lautman is an expert in the corrosive effects of propaganda – something she has tackled head-on in the incredible Podcast “Kremlin File”, which she co-hosts. Olga is a national security researcher and an...
Dec 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Now we need experts on Russian society and politics more than ever – not just to understand the war and its origins, but to understand what comes after it. Kseniya Kirillova is an Investigative journalist and analyst. She offers her expert views on several services of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, with a focus on analysing Russian society, mentality. For this podcast we are especially interested in her deep knowledge of the mechanisms of Russian propaganda (including in the US), "active m...
Dec 27, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Civilians have been on the frontline of the war in Ukraine because of Russia’s inhumane strategies to target densely populated residential areas and to assault Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. When they can’t win on the battlefield, they turn to soft targets and terror tactics. Russia’s strategies clearly constitute war crimes, and one day there must be a reckoning for the tens of thousands of crimes Russia is committing in this war. But right now, across the country, fact-finding teams like Tru...
Dec 27, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 92
The Western alliance has played a crucial role in helping to supply Ukraine with materials and modern weapons to fight back against the Russian occupiers of their lands. But without Ukrainian courage, ingenuity, and stamina, those weapons would have counted for nothing. In the light of Zelensky’s trip to Ukraine, today we discuss what Ukraine needs to win this war, and how Western support for Ukraine can be sustained through the long, hard winter, and through the world economic crisis. Roman She...
Dec 27, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Just as the rise of radio as a medium in the 1930s ran in parallel with the ascendency of Nazism, so in the 21st century the rise of the internet is accompanied by unprecedented levels of discord, division, and coercion. Joseph Goebbels saw radio as a new wonder weapon when combined with the emerging disciplines of behavioural psychology and social science. Today I am talking with Carl Miller about the death of the 20th century’s propaganda weapons, and the creation of new ones in the 21st. Carl...
Aug 29, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Reporting from Russia has never been easy. But now when there is little agreement or collaboration on any issue between Russia and the West, that task has become near impossible. But so much of the West’s understanding of Russia comes from the work of Foreign Correspondents – and I am hoping that my guest today can help to put the current events into a broader historical context. James Rodgers is an Associate Professor in International Journalism and Assistant Vice-President of Global Engagement...
Aug 28, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Is it true to say that conspiracy theories have taken hold of Russia, from top to bottom? Does conspiratorial thinking now seem to be motivating the Kremlin’s decisions and policies? The narratives coming out of the Kremlin and State TV in Russia are aggressive, paranoid and highly toxic. How far do the russian elites believe these narratives, and how much of it is just an instrument for control and coercion? This interview with Ilya Yablokov is both enlightening and terrifying. The author and a...
Aug 28, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 7
There has been a further ratcheting up of sanctions by Europe against Russian oil imports. Also, the transportation of Russia oil is under threat of sanction, as it’s cut off from insurance market by the UK and EU. Russia is now the most sanctioned nation on earth. But the value of its exports continues to rise, with the increases of oil prices. So, are sanctions failing to have an impact? Timothy Ash has been a professional economist for more than 30 years, with two thirds of that in the bankin...
Aug 27, 2022•57 min•Season 1Ep. 6
