In Moscow's Shadows
Russia, behind the headlines as well as in the shadows. This podcast is the audio counterpart to Mark Galeotti's blog of the same name, a place where "one of the most informed and provocative voices on modern Russia", can talk about Russia historical and (more often) contemporary, discuss new books and research, and sometimes talk to other Russia-watchers.
If you'd like to keep the podcast coming and generally support my work, or want to ask questions or suggest topics for me to cover, do please contribute to my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/InMoscowsShadows
The podcast's corporate partner and sponsor is Conducttr, which provides software for innovative and immersive crisis exercises in hybrid warfare, counter-terrorism, civil affairs and similar situations.
Episodes
213 episodes
In Moscow's Shadows 193: Mishustin's Annual Report: what he says, what he doesn't
One, I suspect, more for the wonks. I dig into Prime Minister Mishustin's lengthy and not-so-exciting annual report to parliament, and the responses from the 'opposition' for what is said, and what's not.The podcast's corporate partner a...
•
Episode 193
•
58:59
In Moscow's Shadows 192: What if Ukraine could join the EU in months, not years?
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has suggested Ukraine should be allowed into the EU on 1 January 2030 (by which time the war will be over or frozen...). What if it could be in months not years? It won't happen, for all kinds of reasons, bu...
•
Episode 192
•
58:09
In Moscow's Shadows 191: How is Russian Foreign Policy Made?
What shapes Russian foreign policy? I start by looking at the core issue of the moment, Moscow's thinking over the proposed ceasefire, then consider more broadly what kind of a bizarre and varied mix of institutions and individuals actually sha...
•
Episode 191
•
51:57
In Moscow's Shadows 190: Sanctions, Spies, and Suspect Legitimacy
Reflecting the chaotic and fast-moving nature of the times, another podcast of two parts. In the first, looking at various issues of the week, from Trump's apparent threat to increase sanctions on Russia to a spy case in the UK.In the se...
•
Episode 190
•
51:02
In Moscow's Shadows 189: Oval Office Mugging and Russia's Police in Crisis
Much as I would love not to have to keep talking about Trump, it's inevitable that I cover the extraordinary events of this week: Trump as King Lear, demanding obsequious flattery, Zelensky perhaps ought not to have made the trip to DC. So wher...
•
Episode 189
•
49:08
In Moscow's Shadows 188: War and Peace and Trump
In a more-freeform-than usual episode, I consider the aftermath of the Munich Security Conference, why Trump is such a Putin fanboy (more about being a wannabe strongman than because of any kompromat), and what this means for peace in Ukraine. ...
•
Episode 188
•
47:45
In Moscow's Shadows 187: Tatarstan
As Russia-watchers, we know that Russia is not just Russian, or Russian Orthodox, but there is also a glib assumption that to be Muslim or otherwise a minority is to be depressed, repressed, and suppressed. So how to explain Tatarstan, one of t...
•
Episode 187
•
48:50
In Moscow's Shadows Bonus Minipod: Ukrainskii Sindrom
Originally one of the 'Twelve Days of Shadowy Christmas' bonuses for Patrons, in this short pod I explore whether, when the soldiers come home, Russia is likely to experience a problem of a dispossessed and alienated generation akin to the 'Afg...
•
19:08
In Moscow's Shadows 186: Why is Putin's Russia so Prone to Conspiracy Theories?
The Russian response to Tucker Carlson's claim that the Biden administration tried to assassinate Putin has to a large extent been driven by political expediency -- it makes a great propaganda narrative -- but there does seem to be more to it t...
•
Episode 186
•
48:28
In Moscow's Shadows 185: The One With All The Stuff
How else, frankly, to title an episode which covers Trump and Putin, the CIA's Ukrainian cooperation, Russo-Iranian and -Indian relations, Belarus, and four books on Crimea's history?The Vlad Vexler commentary I mentioned is
•
Episode 185
•
51:28
In Moscow's Shadows 184: One Hundred Years of Companionship?
The UK has signed a 'One Hundred Years Partnership Agreement' with Ukraine -- what's really involved under this grandiose title, and what does it show us about the wider challenges (and some missed opportunities) for supporting Kyiv?The...
•
Episode 184
•
45:44
In Moscow's Shadows 183: War and Peace (and Public Opinion)
We pundits have done more than our fair share speculating on whether, how, when and with what consequences there could be peace or a ceasefire in Ukraine, but instead it seems a good time to see what various research projects suggest about what...
•
Episode 183
•
42:21
In Moscow's Shadows 182: Things To Watch in 2025
Outright prediction may be a mug's game, but what are some of the people and processes I will be watching in 2025?For those who get lost in the flow, they are:PERSONALIA· Elvira Nabiullina...
•
Episode 182
•
54:59
In Moscow's Shadows 181: Strap in for a Bumpy 2025
Sabotage under the Baltic, a grudging apology, a possible attack on a Russian cargo ship, firebombing ATMs, energy blackmail in Moldova... what connects them beyond a sense that, having changed his rules of engagement abroad in 2024, Putin may ...
•
Episode 181
•
34:47
In Moscow's Shadows 180: Keep Calm and Carry On
What can one learn from Putin's 4½-hour-long end of year press conference? Essentially, his message to his people is that - however they might feel - everything is fine and they should stay the course. Meanwhile, over Ukraine if anything his li...
•
Episode 180
•
57:48
In Moscow's Shadows 179: Sex, Drugs & Rocky Roads
We tend to focus on the big challenges facing Russia: war, sanctions, the struggle of authoritarianism vs the remnants of civil society. Maybe it is time to look at some of the less often discussed problems that nonetheless characterise the eme...
•
Episode 179
•
52:24
In Moscow's Shadows 178: Assad la vista, baby - what does Damascus's fall mean for Russia?
So Bashar al-Assad's blood-drenched regime has fallen. Hurrah. But what now for Russia? Is this a terrible geopolitical defeat, or actually something that perversely frees it from a commitment made in 2015, yet less relevant today? What are the...
•
Episode 178
•
46:13
In Moscow's Shadows 177: Adaptation in Russia and Ukraine
President Zelensky's suggestion that military attempts to retake the occupied territories could be abandoned in return for rapid NATO membership for Ukraine does mark a change in tack. What is driving this political-diplomatic adaptation?
•
Episode 177
•
50:22
In Moscow's Shadows 176: Is Andrei Belousov the Lavrov of the Defence Ministry?
Schrödinger's Defence Minister, at once busy and visible yet strangely inconsequential and intangible, what can one make of Andrei Belousov, his rise and his chances of achieving anything in his current role?The entry page for the Condu...
•
Episode 176
•
55:30
In Moscow's Shadows 175: 'In a dangerous world, strike first' - Russian strategic culture
'Strategic culture' means the underlying cultural assumptions about threats and options that informs a nation's specific strategic choices, and Russia's has been strikingly continuous for centuries. As I discuss, it reflects the underlying circ...
•
Episode 175
•
48:56
In Moscow's Shadows 174: Putin, Trump, and the 'Polyphonic' world order
It's impossible to avoid talking about the potential implications of Donald Trump's election, even as its difficult to know for sure what he intends and almost as hard to say anything that hasn't already been said. I have a go, though, after co...
•
Episode 174
•
37:28
In Moscow's Shadows 173: Personalistic Power under Putin
I use reviews of three books to consider the risks and limitations of personalistic explanations of power under Putin, and whether a medieval concept of clan and family actually makes more sense...The books are:THE WIZARD...
•
Episode 173
•
49:51
In Moscow's Shadows 172: BRICS without Straw
(It seems to be obligatory to use a weak BRICS/bricks pun, so I felt I had to follow...)The BRICS summit in Kazan (a smart place to hold it) gives all the appearances of being a propaganda win for Putin. However, I think it emphasised t...
•
Episode 172
•
39:08
In Moscow's Shadows bonus minipodcast: North Koreans in Russia?
Released to Patrons yesterday, a bonus mini-pod on the claims that North Korean combat troops are heading to fight in Ukraine and what the media discussion also says about the current discourse.The podcast's corporate partner and sponso...
•
16:00
In Moscow's Shadows 171: The invisible and invidious Sergei Korolev, perhaps the next head of the FSB
An all-spook episode, as I try to piece together the rise of FSB First Deputy Director Sergei Korolev, who seems the most likely figure to succeed current agency chief Bortnikov. Corruption, clientelism, feuds, the power of the St Petersburg cl...
•
Episode 171
•
47:34