KennanX

Wilson Center Kennan Institute

KennanX is a podcast about our never-ending effort to understand Russia and the region. Hosted by Jill Dougherty.

  1. Russia’s Security Approach to Public Health

    09/10/2024

    Russia’s Security Approach to Public Health

    Russia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the Kremlin’s approach to public health is inextricable from its national security goals. Jill Dougherty and Nataliya Shok discuss the evolution of public health policy in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Sputnik V vaccine as a foreign policy tool, and what policymakers should know about Russian influence in global health policy.

    31 min
  2. How to Declassify National Security Secrets

    07/08/2024

    How to Declassify National Security Secrets

    The National Security Archive at George Washington University is the largest independent non-government collection of declassified US documents and a goldmine of primary resources for scholars of US-Russia relations. Tom Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, and Dr. Svetlana Savranskaya, a senior analyst and director of the Archive’s Russia programs, share what they have uncovered about post-Cold War politics, the context behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the US government information classification system itself.

    25 min
  3. Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin with Ivan Grek

    25/06/2024

    Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin with Ivan Grek

    “Is Putin insane?” Vladimir Putin's speeches can offer insight into the Kremlin’s political thought patterns and intentions, but they are often misunderstood. Jill Dougherty sits down with Ivan Grek, Director of the Russia Program at George Washington University’s Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, who created a linguistic profile of Vladimir Putin to better understand the Russian leader's approach to statecraft.

    21 min
  4. Influence Operations and Russia’s Vision of the Future

    07/05/2024

    Influence Operations and Russia’s Vision of the Future

    Russia is determined that its war in Ukraine will shape the outlines of the future world order, and it’s using influence operations to ensure the outcome will be in Russia’s favor. Washington Post international investigative reporter Catherine Belton joins Jill Dougherty to discuss the crucial role of influence operations in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, common Russian disinformation talking points, and the ultimate goal of Russian strategic operations in the United States and around the world.

    29 min
  5. Tracing the Red Thread to Russia with Ambassador John Beyrle

    06/03/2024

    Tracing the Red Thread to Russia with Ambassador John Beyrle

    Jill Dougherty sits down with former US Ambassador to Russia and Bulgaria John R. Beyrle to discuss their shared foundational experiences in Soviet Russia, including as US exchange students in then-Leningrad and later as American National Exhibition guides, and how they still inform their work in journalism and diplomacy today.

    30 min
  6. Georgia's Democratic Vision with Tinatin Khidasheli

    15/12/2023

    Georgia's Democratic Vision with Tinatin Khidasheli

    Ukraine isn’t the only country that’s fighting Russian influence for its democratic future. Tinatin Khidasheli, Georgia’s first female minister of defense and current Chairperson at Civic IDEA (Initiative for Democratic and Euro-Atlantic Choice), an NGO in Georgia, joins Jill Dougherty to discuss tensions between Georgia’s government and its civil society over the direction of the country’s future, including this year’s mass protests against a proposed “foreign agents” law, and expectations for Georgia’s upcoming presidential election in 2024. k

    35 min
  7. Surviving a Political Poisoning with Natalia Arno

    14/09/2023

    Surviving a Political Poisoning with Natalia Arno

    A shocking number of Kremlin opponents have been left dead or permanently injured from poisonings. During a trip to Prague in May 2023, Free Russia Foundation President and Founder Natalia Arno became one of the latest individuals to develop poisoning symptoms after speaking out against political oppression in Russia. Arno shares her harrowing story with Jill Dougherty, and the two also discuss the work of Russia’s political activists in exile, the Kremlin’s history of transnational oppression of its political opponents, and the signs of hope she sees for Russia’s democratic future.

    22 min
  8. Changing Russia’s Future with Zhanna Nemtsova

    05/07/2023

    Changing Russia’s Future with Zhanna Nemtsova

    Jill Dougherty sits down with Zhanna Nemtsova to discuss her work with the Boris Nemtsov Foundation, which Zhanna founded in 2015 in Germany after her father’s assassination, and the generational gaps that have divided Russian civil society. Their conversation touched on the prevailing apathy of Russian society in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, propaganda in higher education being used to advance Putin’s agenda, and why the key to Russia’s democratization lies in education reform. Show notes and episode transcript: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/audio/kennanx-episode-28-zhanna-nemtsova

    39 min
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About

KennanX is a podcast about our never-ending effort to understand Russia and the region. Hosted by Jill Dougherty.

Information

  • Creator
    Wilson Center Kennan Institute
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2024
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Wilson Center Kennan Institute
  • Show Website
    KennanX