Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Farida Rustamova, author of the Vlast newsletter dedicated to Russia’s domestic politics, to discuss the 2026 State Duma elections, what’s new, and what to expect next.
Alexander Gabuev, Farida Rustamova
Podcast host Alexander Gabuev is joined by Carolina Drüten, security correspondent for Die Welt, and Joseph Verbovszky, co-director of the German Wargaming Center, to discuss the first public wargame in Germany that lays bare how Russia could potentially attack NATO territory and how the alliance may react.
As the conflict between the West and Putin’s Russia escalates without guardrails, would the Kremlin dare to launch a military incursion into NATO territory in coming years? With the mercurial Donald Trump at the helm of NATO’s most consequential power, how might NATO react to an attack against a member state?
These were the questions addressed in a German war game, Ernstfall, co-hosted by Die Welt newspaper and the German Wargaming Center, which has sparked a lively policy debate inside NATO. Alexander Gabuev, who played Vladimir Putin in the exercise, is joined by the two main architects of the war game to take listeners backstage and discuss the making of Ernstfall and its policy implications.
Check out the Politico article about the war game, and read Alex Gabuev’s New York Times piece about it here.
Excerpts from the Ernstfall podcast are copyrighted by Die Welt and are reproduced here with permission. Listen to that podcast here.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Farida Rustamova, author of the Vlast newsletter dedicated to Russia’s domestic politics, to discuss the 2026 State Duma elections, what’s new, and what to expect next.
Alexander Gabuev, Farida Rustamova
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Hiski Haukkala, director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and former chief of cabinet to the Finnish president, to discuss the growing Russia threat to Northern Europe, Finland's unique way of managing the Russia problem, and potential ways to build a more stable and predictable relationship between Europe and the Kremlin.
Alexander Gabuev, Hiski Haukkala
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Eva Seiwert, a senior analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, and Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek and how member states use the organization to pursue their policy objectives.
Alexander Gabuev, Eva Seiwert, Temur Umarov
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Janis Kluge, deputy head of the Eastern Europe and Eurasia research team at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, to discuss the Russian military recruitment machine, a possible new mobilization wave, and the state of the Kremlin’s war chest.
Alexander Gabuev, Janis Kluge
Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by Nate Reynolds, a senior fellow at Carnegie’s Russia and Eurasia Program, to discuss transatlantic security and its future after the recent NATO summit in Ankara.
Alexander Gabuev, Nate Reynolds