Putin and the Secret Policeman’s Ball

As Putin starts his fifth term as Russian president, he has appealing offers for security services on the dark side.

Irina Borogan and me for CEPA cepa.org/article/putin-…

Putin and the Secret Policeman’s Ball

As Putin starts his fifth term as Russian president, he has appealing offers for security services on the dark side.

By the intrepid and always insightful journalist team of Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov
cepa.org/article/putin-…

Anschläge, Attentate, Sabotage: Wird der Krieg gegen die Ukraine auch zunehmend in das europäische Hinterland getragen?

'Ich fürchte, dass wir uns an diesen Gedanken gewöhnen müssen', sagt der russische Geheimdienstexperte Andrei Soldatov auf ZEIT ONLINE zeit.de/politik/auslan…

Geheimdienstexperte Andrej Soldatow beschäftigt sich seit 20 Jahren mit russischen Cyberattacken. Im Interview erklärt er, wie weit Russland gehen kann. trib.al/uBcPnnz

Sergei Shoigu is now going to head the Russian security council instead of Nikolai Patrushev, arguably Putin's closest aide. No word on where the latter is going.
t.me/rian_ru/245180

Next Tue w NYU Jordan Center: a webinar on how Russia's security services function in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Featuring Andrei Soldatov, Domitilla Sagramoso, & Kevin Riehle. Mod. by Joshua Tucker & Alexander Cooley ow.ly/kspU50RAVlo

“Like many fellow KGB veterans who lived through the collapse of the Soviet Union, Putin retains a keen sense of the fragility of the Russian state.”

Read Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan on the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign against defectors:
trib.al/4lt8N3V

Read the latest piece of our KCSI members Andrei Soldatov (Andrei Soldatov) and Irina Borogan (@irinaborogan).

'Putin’s Defector Obsession'

foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

My friend Vladimir Kara-Murza got the Pulitzer Prize for his columns in the #WashingtonPost . He is still in Putin’s prison. Freedom for Vladimir!

We have one more -ism in our history: Stalinism. Putinism is one more incarnation of Stalinism. He behaves like Stalin. His power is personalised like in Stalin's time. He prefers to use a lot of political repressions.

This must be the first Pulitzer won by someone in IK-7 prison in Omsk, Siberia. Congrats to Vladimir Kara-Murza!

.John Kampfner about Laurie Bristow book on the withdrawal from Afghanistan,

“A new account by the British ambassador at the time, Laurie Bristow, provides important further insights into the disaster as it unfolded.”

The betrayal of Afghans by Trump and Biden, and why it matters now more than ever, even with everyone's attention on Ukraine and Gaza. My latest column Foreign Policy
foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/05/the…

“Even if they look and sound completely insignificant,” the Kremlin targets 'traitorous' individuals out of fear they “might come back to the country and destroy it completely.' Andrei Soldatov Emma Burrows buff.ly/3y43dbI

Putin’s campaign against defectors reflects the lasting impact of his totalitarian twentieth-century predecessors—especially Stalin, who sent assassins after the Russian volunteer troops fighting for the Germans, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/BBWHFhq

Moscow’s long history of paranoia about threats from within is fueling Putin’s campaign against defectors, which began in the months after the failure of the initial full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/dnNBleD

Kremlin critics say Russia is targeting its foes abroad with killings, poisonings and harassment apnews.com/article/russia…

Read Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan on the Kremlin’s preoccupation with Ukraine-based Russian rebels—and how Putin’s response to Russian defectors reflects the paranoia of his twentieth-century predecessors.
trib.al/OV0naK8

Fueled by a century of paranoia —and volunteer units in Ukraine — Putin’s campaign against defectors seems likely to lead to further assassinations abroad and more crackdowns at home. Irina Borogan and me in Foreign Affairs on Putin’s Defector Obsession.
foreignaffairs.com/russian-federa…

Putin’s campaign against defectors reflects the lasting impact of his totalitarian twentieth-century predecessors—especially Stalin, who sent assassins after the Russian volunteer troops fighting for the Germans, write Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan.
trib.al/RFdqvqj