Russian information operations are designed to accentuate and exaggerate the effects of war, but their strategies have been changing since the attack on the Kerch Bridge. Whereas Russian disinformation sources previously sought to spread confusion over their interference in Ukraine, now they use messaging to play up their military attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilians. From supporting the strategy of plausible deniability, Russian info ops are now wielded as a terror weapon, t...
Jan 16, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 104
After Putin was foisted on Russians in 2000 as their new president, they also chose to elect him. His direct and coarse language, threat and intimation of violence attracted people, and continued to do so for 20 years. Russians’ fetish for strong leaders, and superficial social and political stability has now backfired spectacularly. Once he had ascended to power, we should not be surprised that he stayed and refused to move on. Putin’s model of authoritarian leadership always leads to tragedy a...
Jan 13, 2023•52 min•Season 2Ep. 106
It’s my pleasure today to welcome back onto the channel Vlad Vexler, Social Philosopher, and popular YouTuber. Our previous two video conversations proved to be extremely popular, and so we are risking our luck with a third. Please do check out Vlad’s channel on YouTube, as it has a collection of the most thought-provoking and insightful videos on the Russian mindset and the roots of this war. Today, among other things, we’ll be discussing: - Causes of the war a year on - Unconscious Russian imp...
Jan 12, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 101
Today I’m speaking with Anna Danylchuk, who has been creating a war diary since the early days of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. She aims to tell the truth about Ukraine when there are so many attempts to propagandise the war and the causes of the war. Anna is passionate about the beauty and independence of her country, and communicates this very powerfully in her videos, in a subjective, emotional, and honest way honest.
Jan 10, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Rahim Rahimov is a Baku-based member of the Management Board the Tbilisi-based Association of European Studies for the Caucasus.
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Putin claims that a belligerent NATO forced his hand to invade Ukraine. He undoubtedly also feared an independent, democratic, and affluent Ukraine. But like a classical Greek drama, Putin has by his actions, created the very conditions here fears. NATO more united than ever, with new members Finland and Sweden. A resurgent West remembering its values and rearming. And Ukraine – strong like never before, a nation emerging from the amnesia of history and from under the yoke of centuries of imperi...
Jan 10, 2023•37 min•Season 2Ep. 100
The war is not going well for Russia. His propagandists on state TV are making ever more aggressive and genocidal demands against Ukraine – doubling down on its right to exist; hardliners are making their voices heard as never before, and Putin is striking out vindictively against Ukraine. How did we get here, and what is the endgame for Putin’s regime and his dreams of imperial revanchism? Dr Precious Chatterje-Doody is a Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at The Open University. Sh...
Jan 09, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Today I’m speaking with Paul Niland the Founder of Lifeline Ukraine, which is the country's first, national, professional, 24/7 suicide prevention and mental health support service. Initially, Lifeline Ukraine was being set up to address one of the most serious social questions in Ukraine, the heart-breaking suicide rate in Ukraine's veterans’ community. But this need is likely to be even greater when this war is finally over, and Ukraine victorious, as the full extent of individual trauma comes...
Jan 09, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Russian’s assault on Ukraine in 2022 presents the most serious geopolitical crisis since the Second World War, and the first time a country has sought to expunge a sovereign nation from the map of the world since the NAZI era. And yet at the heart of the war is a mystery. Vladimir Putin apparently lurched from a calculating, subtle master of opportunity to a reckless gambler, putting his regime – and Russia itself – at risk of destruction. He also thought the ‘regime’ in Kyiv could be toppled in...
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 99
The Social, Political and Psychological impact of Russia's Mobilisation. Conscription is capricious, and threatening - causing a huge wave of flight from Russia, especially among men of military draft age. Russia seems condemned to repeat the mistakes of history, rather than learning from them, as evidenced by Putin’s mass mobilisation of Russian males into the armed forces, and the shock and panic it has prompted within Russia. Today, I am discussing the political, social, and psychological imp...
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 47
The next generation of cannon fodder - the Militarisation of Youth and Manipulation of History. Not only has Russia engaged in an aggressive war in 2022, but it’s also been ramping up military actions abroad and militaristic education and propaganda domestically, since the late 90s. In today’s interview I’m exploring Militarisation of Youth and Manipulation of History with Allyson Edwards. Dr Allyson Edwards is Lecturer in Global History at Bath Spa University, researching militarism in Post-Sov...
Jan 06, 2023•59 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Putin has ordered a partial mobilisation in Russia, as a tacit admission that Moscow's war in Ukraine is not going to plan after nearly seven months of intense and bloody fighting. Officially 300,000 reservists will be drafted to support its military campaign, and the chaotic mobilisation process has incited panic and an exodus of fighting age men from Russia – does anyone believe the Russian government will stick to the stated limits? After all, they claim only 5,397 Russian soldiers have died ...
Jan 06, 2023•47 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Putin is counting on a loss of cohesion among the Western allies, to help him win the war in Ukraine. Countries that have been particularly targeted to weaken their resolve include Hungary and Italy. The Italian general election that has just concluded was a snap election held after the fall of the Draghi government in July. The results of the general election meant the centre-right coalition led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, a radical-right political party with neo-fascist roots, won a...
Jan 06, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 48
It seems that Russia’s main strategy in its war is now attrition and perseverance. Putin hopes that the commitment of the West to Ukraine will decline as the horror drags on for months. Russian info ops have also turned to amplifying terror messages, and underscoring the economic and social costs for the west of its continuing support for Ukraine’s military resistance. But how can so-called ‘war fatigue’ be countered among the allies, and especially the attention of the public engaged over a lon...
Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 98
Starting from scratch in January 2014 as a citizen media initiative, with no starting capital, Euromaidan Press is now #4 in terms of readership among English-language media about Ukraine, as well as being a well-known action hub connecting pro-Ukrainian activists worldwide. Alya Shandra is Editor-in-chief at Euro Maidan Press. She has a background in environmental science and NGOs. During the Euromaidan revolution Alya Shandra launched an indy-media outlet called Euromaidan Press, and that proj...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Information security - How Ukraine has pioneered Open Source Intelligence to fight Hybrid Information Warfare. Disinformation and all the dark arts of hybrid information warfare are a major threat to victory against Russian aggression in Ukraine. Disinformation seeks to create an image of Ukraine as an enemy and obtain a social mandate within Russia to implement Putin’s imperialist policies. It also seeks to destabilize society and force Ukraine to sue for peace on Moscow’s terms. Lastly, propag...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 43
Dr Yuri Felshtinsky is a prominent author, historian, and journalist, and expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union. He has appeared in hundreds of print, TV and radio interviews worldwide, and is widely known as co-author of the book “Blowing Up Russia” with Alexander Litvinenko, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the FSB who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in London in 2006. His latest book – “Blowing up Ukraine: The Return of Russian Terror and The Threat of World War III”, was research...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 45
Unbroken: How Independent Candidates are Resisting Autocracy during the Moscow Municipal Elections. Moscow held its municipal elections last weekend, and the event received an unusual amount of attention from the world’s media. There seems to be an unprecedented level of public criticism of Putin, but it’s coming from the local municipal level and not from the parliament, the Duma. More than 40 local elected officials across Russia signed a two-sentence petition last Monday that ended with the s...
Jan 05, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Russian propaganda is at its heart nihilistic. Its effects can be highly corrosive, and it does not necessarily try to convince you of its point of view. Rather it seeks to engender division, conflict and in some circumstances apathy and inaction. Russia Today has been at the forefront of the Russian propaganda effort for more than a decade. This conversation seeks to unpack the intent behind the channel, how it works, and how it seeks to sow division amongst Russia's perceived enemies. Russia T...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 42
The Putin regime has been widely exploiting the vulnerabilities of global social media platforms, using bots and trolls to promote specific stories and narratives. But Russian propaganda does not work how most people think it does. The interventions of the trolls and agitators often fail to directly promote pro-regime narratives in political discussions but do succeed in distracting people from having open discussions that are critical of the state. Welcome to the counter-intuitive world of Russ...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Russian propaganda is at its heart nihilistic. Its effects can be highly corrosive, and it does not necessarily try to convince you of its point of view. Rather it seeks to engender division, conflict and in some circumstances apathy and inaction. Today I am discussing a wide variety of themes with Social Philosopher and YouTube phenomenon, Vlad Vexler. Themes such as propaganda and imperialism, authoritarian media spaces and their impact on how people think and act. And of course, we’ll be talk...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Has Trump inflicted permanent damage on American democracy? Or in the long run, will his efforts to pervert and destroy American institutions make American democracy stronger? What is the role of social media in amplifying extreme points of view and the voices of conspiracy theorists? The last few years has placed unprecedented pressure on America’s democratic institutions and traditions. Today I am joined by David DeBatto to explore the effects of this full-frontal assault on Western democracy,...
Jan 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Russia did not only attack Ukraine militarily from 2014 onwards, but also with propaganda and Information warfare, which have been at the forefront of Russia’s efforts to control, dominate and coerce the people of Ukraine. They have also sought to undermine and destroy Ukrainian political institutions, civil administrations, education establishments and culture. But a whole community of Digital innovators – marketers and software engineers, journalists and researchers have fought back. They have...
Jan 05, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 40
For those who have observed Russia and Putin over the years, and his decent into tyrannical absolutism, my guest today needs no introduction. Edward Lucas was one of the first journalists to raise the alarm about Putin’s actions and motivations. While most of the world still thought of Putin as ‘someone we could do business with’, Edward published a prescient and insightful book in 2008 called “The New Cold War – Putin’s threat to Russia and the West”. It remains one of the most insightful and i...
Jan 05, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 39
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine since 2014 has been accompanied by substantial and relentless disinformation campaigns, in which blatant lies have played a central role. Russia’s hybrid information warfare was integrated into the overall attempt to destabilise Ukraine, and its aim was to undermine Ukraine’s position both among the internal population, in the eyes of the international community, sowing doubt and confusion. In 2015 28 member countries of the EU took the decision to set up the East ...
Jan 04, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 35
YouControl is a Ukrainian team that creates technology and services for business analysis. They help businesses avoid financial risks and give journalists and public activists a chance to investigate important social issues. It is highly innovative and is part of a rich ecosystem of technologies and initiatives that have sprung up since 2014 to counter the Russian invasion of independent Ukraine. Today I’m speaking with Danylo Globa to learn more about YouControl. Daniel Globa is a lawyer and De...
Jan 04, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 36
The narratives that have been coming out of the Kremlin and Russian State TV since February are aggressive, paranoid, and highly toxic. But how far do they believe these narratives, and how much of this is just an instrument for control and coercion? Was there a point in time where Putin and his minions started to believe their own conspiracy narratives? Or to some extend have they always seen the world differently from the West? I am exploring these paradoxes today with an expert on Russian pol...
Jan 04, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 34
The invasion of Crimea and the Donbas in 2014 has now been overshadowed by the full-scale war across Ukraine. But understanding the shadowy and obscure ways in which the conflict began and developed prior to 2022 may help to highlight potential risks for a post-conflict order. Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy may have played a leading role in igniting and fuelling the conflict, but crime and insurgency are intimately interconnected in the Kremlin playbook. The boundaries between mafia criminalit...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Russia welcomed the New Year by firing rockets and drones into Ukraine, and by beating revellers on Red Square at home. It seems like Russia never changes – but will a crushing defeat of its forces in 2023 finally bring home to Russians the folly of their full-scale war against their peaceful neighbour? Today I’m speaking with Ryan McBeth, influential YouTuber, Author, triathlete, Army veteran and programmer. Ryan makes educational and OSINT videos, that look at the war in Ukraine from a militar...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 97
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. Today, I will be discussing those relationships that strengthen Ukraine, and which will be crucial when the country starts to rebuild and recover from the destruction inflicted on it by Russia since February 2022. Oleksandr Kraie...
Jan 02, 2023•53 min•Season 1Ep. 32
