⚫️ NOVEDAD ⚫️
El crimen organizado no solo genera ganancias, también cuenta la historia del poder, la sociedad y la economía, habiendo sido importante en la formación de los Estados, el capitalismo y la globalización.
Homo criminalis. Cómo el crimen organiza el mundo, de @markgaleotti.bsky.social.
Monday morning re-up: While western media often runs overhyped tales of proxy and coming "war with Russia", there's an even more toxic brand of Russian militarist fantasy that craves confrontation. I deconstruct an example of each, and discuss how they feed off each other
In Moscow's Shadows 244: The War Word And The Clickbait Trap
Are we at "war" with Russia? What does that even mean? I dig into some recent British claims, and an insane Russian essay fantasising about a tactical nuclear strike to end the Ukraine war.
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
Russia’s long-silent opposition is starting to show signs of life
My latest for @thetimes.com. Without overplaying this as signs of imminent change, it is noteworthy how the issue is really division and dissatisfaction within the hitherto-quiescent insiders
www.thetimes.com/world/europe...
So those times I have also written for the New Statesman and Guardian, what do they say about me?
Russia’s nationalists are falling out of love with Putin
An exhibition celebrating the life and times of the toxic clown Zhirinovsky not be enough to rebuild the relationship. My take for the @thespectator1828.bsky.social blog
spectator.com/article/russ...
I talk about the parallels with the 2022 Ukraine invasion in my podcast back in February:
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
My copies of SIEGE OF KAZAN 1552. IVAN THE TERRIBLE BREAKS THE KAZAN KHANATE have finally arrived! Thanks to
@ospreypublishing.bsky.social for indulging my desire to cover this little known but, I think, fascinating campaign
Putin’s plan to extend his influence becomes clearer by the day
We'll see what the new 'ceasefire' may mean, but conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East provide new economic and political opportunities for Moscow through food and fertilisers. @theipaper.com
inews.co.uk/news/world/p...
'Homo criminalis. Cómo el crimen organiza el mundo', de @markgaleotti.bsky.social.
20 de abril.
capitanswing.com/catalogo/hom...
Easter Monday re-up! A reviews and views episode: 6 recent books with important things to say about today's Russia and the war in Ukraine and some of my thoughts spinning off them
In Moscow's Shadows 243: Who Controls The Story In Russia?
I look at 6 recent books on Russia and Ukraine, and how they all relate to struggles over narratives and power.
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
Russian Exiles in Europe Face a Catch-22
Belatedly getting round to this strong Dan Storyev piece in the @themoscowtimes.com that nails this myth about Russian emigres not pulling their weight
www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/03/30/r...
Putin’s insecurity about British spies leaves us all at risk
My latest for @theipaper.com that hits 3 of my hobbyhorses: Russia's outsized sense of the UK's role, the needless harassment of British diplomats, and the dangers of too-limited diplomatic channels
inews.co.uk/news/world/p...
The Global Story: Is the Iran war helping Putin?
Of course the answer is yes, generally, but not in a game-changing way and not without downsides. But I try and be a little less wishy-washy in my debut for this BBC World Service analysis!
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Monday morning re-up: Sechin seems back on the scene in the wake of the news Putin is looking to oligarchs to make "voluntary" donations to the war. What does his career show about power, influence and the diamond ceiling in Russia?
In Moscow's Shadows 242: Igor Sechin, Sharpening Putin's Pencils for 30 Years
Rosneft's CEO + every liberal's favourite bugbear is back in the news, after a time laying low. Why? Because of the difference between being a friend of Putin's and a crony
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
A 'vatnik' is someone spreading Kremlin lies/talking points. Yes, Charap says things that some regard as too pro-Russian, and sometimes I disagree with his views, but they are, I believe, his genuine take. To disparage him just as some Kremlin mouthpiece is unfair and unhelpful
Seriously, you think my characterising Putin’s Russia as a thuggish authoritarian police state is refusing to say a bad word about it?
And for the record, I have no problem blocking people simply because I find them annoying (and am always surprised by how so many individuals somehow seem to regard that at some affront. It's not, for example, that I regard it as my right that they read my stuff, for example).
If you honestly endorse the view that Sam Charap and, even more bizarrely, Mike Kofman, are "pro-Russian vatniks", then we clearly live in different universes.
Is this going to bring down the regime? Of course not. But it is an interesting sign of the protest potential bubbling beneath the surface of this supposedly supine and browbeaten country. Generation Z? I think not. 8/end
The issue of internet outages is proving a big deal, and even if one minimises it as a concern of the big city metropolitan elites (and it’s not just them), they count. There’s even calls on TikTok to teenagers’ protests on Sunday. 7/
In a telling parallel with Stalinist pseudoscientific fads: “In the late Stalinist years, we already went through a cycle of bans on research in genetics and robotics. Back then, the main argument was to ensure ideological security!... we fell decades behind” 5/
“life in a modern city is unimaginable without fast, high-quality mobile internet... It's the engine; without it, the economy slows down, companies suffer losses, and so does the state.” 4/
“Security is a bulletproof argument; everyone is worried about their lives. But security is the responsibility of agencies that... like to make life easier for themselves by restricting citizens' freedoms and conveniences wherever possible.” 3/
Titled “Internet restrictions are preventing Russia from joining the new technological order,” it lays the blame squarely on one constituency: “The interests of the security forces should not hinder the development of a fundamental modern factor of production.” 2/
Interesting that Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a liberal but still mainstream Russian newspaper, runs an editorial sharply criticising internet outages and the security apparatus, even drawing Stalin parallels. A short thread 1/
www.ng.ru/editorial/20...
Monday morning re-up: it's hard to know what to make of the bizarre case of Ilya Remeslo, an attack dog who savaged Navalny for the Kremlin, now turning on Putin. Epiphany? Provocation? The 'Prigozhin Hypothesis'? Either way, it comes at a time of growing turmoil and even faintly reviving politics
In Moscow's Shadows 241: When Attack Dogs Turn
Can online storms beget real ones? Not the silly "Narva People's Republic", but the turning of Ilya Remeslo, Kremlin attack dog now turning on Putin? I've some theories and a possibly (over-)optimistic conclusion
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...