Wow. What an… interesting perspective

We’re looking forward to Mark Galeotti talking at Selwyn tonight about Putin and Russian history. The event is fully booked in person, but everyone is welcome to join us online from 6pm BST: youtube.com/live/cdY0Ndf_C…

Monday morning podcast re-up: why do corrupt kleptocracies sometimes launch anti-corruption campaigns? Not to change but to preserve themselves - and certainly not to net the biggest fish

At this point Ukraine can perhaps deal with its own issues and not try to score points scaring its closest friends, thank you.

We do our own analyses of Russia's intentions.

Whenever I try to type kleptocracy, odds are it will come out as kelptocracy. Rule by seaweed? I, for one, welcome our new algae overlords.
In Moscow's Shadows 148: 'Purging' the Military; the politics of anti-corruption in a corrupt system buzzsprout.com/1026985/151367…

Forever wars and facial recognition – what Russia will look like in 2030
Honestly, this deserved 8000 words rather than 800, but i newspaper asked me to speculate, so I did...

Ra-ra-rasputin: mystic, hierophant, charlatan, pilgrim, abuser, libertine, favourite of Romanovs, personification of mystic link betw tsar & peasants, friend of Nicky & Alix, disastrous politician venal grifter, peasant martyr, join William Dalrymple anita Empire Podcast.

In Moscow's Shadows 148: 'Purging' the Military; the politics of anti-corruption in a corrupt system
What's behind the current spate of corruption-related arrests within the Russian military? Fears of a coup, an FSB takeover, punishing the generals for a badly-fought war? I'd say

We’re excited to be joined by Mark Galeotti on May 28th to look at Vladimir Putin in the context of Russian history. Click to book an in-person ticket. Also available online.

eventbrite.co.uk/e/putin-in-rus…

Why is Putin purging his generals?
Quick thoughts on why 'Belousov’s accountants may well yet make a serious contribution to the war effort' for Coffee House
spectator.co.uk/article/why-is…

Ah, the joy of a two-hour delay for a 55-minute flight… (The days when British Airways could call themselves 'the world's favourite airline' seem long gone, alas)

Just got home after spending 12 truly fascinating hours with Mark Galeotti at various meetings in the Netherlands. Thanks for the good discussions Mark 🙏

And for those who don’t follow his podcast on Russia yet, you should: open.spotify.com/episode/5FRX0B…

Monday morning podcast re-up: looking at the specifics of the Russian govt reshuffle but also putting it into wider contexts: preparing for a permanent mobilisation state, and not clan but generational conflicts

In Moscow's Shadows 147: The Reshuffle, Or Change To Preserve Things As They Are
What does the Russian government reshuffle mean? Creating an enduring militarised, mobilised state, preserving Putin's rule through playing generations against each other buzzsprout.com/1026985/150943…

Putin has put Russia on a permanent war footing
My general take on what's happening now, for The Times and The Sunday Times : in many ways, backs to militarised and (ultimately) moribund 70s USSR, with nationalism, Orthodoxy and autocracy as a threadbare alternative ideology

thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-…

'But what really made Putin’s vision clear came last week: a government reshuffle that showed how he plans to reshape Russia, turning it into a permanently mobilised, war-fighting state...' Mark Galeotti in The Times and The Sunday Times (£). thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-…

In the last lecture of our Spring programme, and in front of an audience of more than 300, Mark Galeotti speaks on the Russia-Ukraine War: the future of conflict, or the past?

It may be viewed later on our archive: ncl.ac.uk/events/public-…

Engage@NewcastleUni UCL RUSI #ukraine