At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Western leaders put a lot of faith in applying economic pressure to Russia, and it is now probably the most sanctioned country in the world. But despite the unprecedented sanctions tsunami, the Russian economy is yet to collapse. How long can the Kremlin maintain its ever-growing military spending and the overall economic imbalances? Will Putin be able to simultaneously finance his costly war, keep the population happy, and maintain macroeconomic stability?
For additional insight into this issue, read Alexandra Prokopenko's piece for Foreign Affairs on Putin’s trilemma here.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by two representatives of the independent Russian media outlet Mediazona—English-language editor Mika Golubovsky and data team technical lead David Frenkel—to discuss their work counting Russia’s losses in spite of Moscow’s attempts to obscure that data.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia and Eastern Europe editor for The Economist, to discuss the role of Victory Day in Russia and how it has evolved under Putin.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and one of the most sought-after analysts of the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, to discuss the situation on the ground and the trajectory of the war.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Tatiana Mikhailova, an economist and visiting assistant professor at Penn State University, to make sense of the trade war initiated by Washington.