Anti-Western Influence Campaigns in Latin America: Understanding the Russia-Venezuela-Iran Triangle
The Russia File
Latin America has long been a playground for Russia’s anti-Western influence operations. But today Russia isn’t alone in this game: In recent years Iran has become an increasingly prominent player on the continent as well—particularly in Venezuela. In this episode, Izabella Tabarovsky talks with Emanuele Ottolenghi of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies about the growing Russian-Iranian influence on the continent, specifically how the two countries work together to spread anti-US and anti-Western propaganda, circumvent sanctions, and contribute to America’s worsening border...
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The Role of Africa in Russia’s Geopolitics
The Russia File
Russia’s intensive involvement with the African continent goes back decades. During the Cold War, Moscow viewed Africa as its “natural” sphere of influence and a staging ground for active measures and proxy wars aiming to undermine American interests. When the USSR fell apart, an intermission followed. Today, Russia is unquestionably back. What draws Russia to Africa? Which African countries attract it and why? What purposes do relationships with various African states serve for Russia—and what makes Russia attractive to the African states that choose to partner with it? What is the...
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Georgian Politics After Controversial “Foreign Agent” Law
The Russia File
In December 2023, Georgia was granted official European Union candidate status, but the country's path to EU membership may now be at risk because of the recently adopted law “on transparency of foreign influence.” This controversial legislation targeting media and NGOs has sparked mass street protests and, coupled with violence against protesters and a bill that would restrict LGBTQ+ rights and freedoms, has raised concerns about democratic backsliding in Georgia. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with journalist Joshua Kucera about the motivations of the ruling...
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The Russian Aviation Industry Two Years after the Sanctions
The Russia File
One of the sectors targeted by U.S. economic sanctions is Russia's civil aviation. Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Boeing and Airbus, whose planes constituted 70 percent of Russia's fleet, announced they would freeze the delivery of spare parts. Many predicted that Russia's commercial aviation would soon be grounded—a potentially devastating development for a country of almost seven million square miles and eleven time zones. Two years later, Russia's domestic aviation seems to have adjusted to the sanctions. How has that happened? What has been the cost of the...
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Russia’s Battle around Reproductive Health and Women’s Rights
The Russia File
Russian authorities are taking tentative steps to limit access to abortion and other aspects of reproductive health, ostensibly to combat the demographic crisis, which has been amplified by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In this episode of The Russia File, Victoria Pardini and Nina Rozhanovskaya talk with two scholars of Russian reproductive politics and health, Michele Rivkin-Fish and Nataliya Shok, about the country’s long history of reproductive rights, the current rhetoric regarding family values, and what restrictions might lie ahead. They also discuss the debates...
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Russia on the Second Anniversary of the Invasion of Ukraine
The Russia File
Two years after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Maxim Trudolyubov, editor in chief of the Kennan Institute’s Russia File blog, to discuss where Russia is today. They discussed new trends in Russian emigration and the brain drain that never was, how the Russian economy has managed to defy predictions of immediate collapse, and who is actually running Russia. This is part 2 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit:
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Ukraine on the Second Anniversary of the Russian Invasion
The Russia File
Two years after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Izabella Tabarovsky sat down with Mykhailo Minakov, the Kennan Institute’s senior advisor on Ukraine and editor in chief of its Focus Ukraine blog, to discuss where Ukraine is today militarily, politically, socially and economically; Ukrainians’ sources of resilience; and why bipartisan support for Ukraine is in the national interest of the United States. This is part 1 of our conversation about the second anniversary of the invasion. It was recorded on February 6. For show notes and relevant links please visit:
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Buryatia and the High Toll of Russia’s War in Ukraine on Ethnic Minorities
The Russia File
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has highlighted some of its own domestic problems. One of them is the uneven economic development of Russian regions and another is the unfair treatment of ethnic minorities. The Republic of Buryatia, a region in East Siberia, has been under the spotlight since February 2022, because of what looks like disproportionate representation of Buryats among the ranks of Russian soldiers. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with Buryat activist and research scientist Mariya Vyushkova about Buryat history and identity, Russia’s...
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Belarus Three Years After Protest
The Russia File
In August 2020, Aleksandr Lukashenko, authoritarian leader of Belarus, denied electoral fraud and claimed landslide victory in his sixth presidential election. The regime’s violent crackdown on the mass pro-democracy protests signaled a new era of political repression in the country and triggered a major emigration wave. In this episode of The Russia File, Nina Rozhanovskaya talks with political analyst Artyom Shraibman about how the situation in Belarus has changed over the past three years, the effects of the war in Ukraine on Belarusian state and society, the regime’s new repressive...
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Berlin as a Home of New Russian Political Exiles
The Russia File
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Berlin has emerged as a crucial center of activity for both Ukrainian refugees and Russian political exiles. It is here that many known and emerging leaders of the Russian opposition, political activists, human rights defenders, and independent journalists live, work, and gather to meet and discuss Russia’s future. Izabella Tabarovsky visited Berlin to meet with some of the people who are involved in Berlin’s emerging Russian political diaspora culture. In this episode of The Russia File, she talks to Alexey Yusupov of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation...
info_outlineRussia’s intensive involvement with the African continent goes back decades. During the Cold War, Moscow viewed Africa as its “natural” sphere of influence and a staging ground for active measures and proxy wars aiming to undermine American interests. When the USSR fell apart, an intermission followed. Today, Russia is unquestionably back. What draws Russia to Africa? Which African countries attract it and why? What purposes do relationships with various African states serve for Russia—and what makes Russia attractive to the African states that choose to partner with it? What is the role of the Russian private military companies Wagner and Africa Corps in these relationships? And what is Africa’s role in Russia’s global propaganda and disinformation effort? Izabella Tabarovsky discusses these and other questions with Maxim Matusevich, professor of history at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and chair of the university’s History Department. The episode was recorded on July 26. For time stamps and transcript, please visit here: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/role-africa-russias-geopolitics