Latest Interviews
Showing 1–5 of 5 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist7 min
Is Putin‘s narrative working?
Marked by the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia's 80th Victory Day parade transformed the 1945 Allied triumph into an isolated, state-orchestrated ritual that explicitly excludes Western allies. Vladimir Putin leverages this historical narrative to forge a continuous "cult of victory" that legitimizes his rule and the ongoing war in Ukraine as a reenactment of Soviet-era greatness. The event underscores Russia's geopolitical severance from the West, replacing the original concept of a shared liberation with a dependency on non-Western alliances and a focus on great power status rather than territorial expansion.
- The Economist23 min
With this ring: Trump and Putin omit Ukraine
Trump, Putin, Rosie Bloor, Shashank Joshi, Rachel Lloyd
In a significant geopolitical shift, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin initiated direct diplomatic talks to end the Ukraine war, with a newly formed US negotiating team excluding Ukraine and European allies while signaling a move away from NATO membership guarantees. Simultaneously, the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group captured the eastern Congolese city of Goma, prompting a regional military escalation and raising concerns about further advances toward Kinshasa despite a lack of immediate negotiation prospects. In the cultural sector, the *Bridget Jones* franchise is returning with a fourth film that explores themes of bereavement and relatable imperfection, continuing the series' legacy of commercial success and social relevance over two decades.
- The Economist9 min
War in Ukraine: how far will Putin go?
Experts warn that Vladimir Putin, viewing the conflict as an existential war against the West, possesses both the willingness and capability to escalate through battlefield nuclear weapons, sabotage of NATO arms depots, and unfounded chemical weapon allegations. While the Kremlin employs grey zone tactics to erode alliance credibility and seeks a negotiated global sphere of influence with Western leaders, Russia simultaneously faces internal fragility marked by rising anti-Moscow sentiment and domestic instability. This dynamic creates a high-risk environment where Russian paralysis and paranoia could precipitate a direct confrontation with NATO or a destabilizing collapse of the Russian state itself.
- The Economist10 min
Putin, the poisoning and Belarus: what's really going on?
Following the August 20 Novichok poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the violent suppression of the 2020 Belarusian election, sustained cross-border protests in Khabarovsk and Minsk have exposed the fragility of Vladimir Putin's and Alexander Lukashenko's regimes. As European nations move to deny diplomatic recognition to Lukashenko and Putin provides emergency financial aid to maintain power, the survival of opposition leaders like Navalny and the coordinated actions of female activists are undermining the legitimacy of these authoritarian systems. Analysts warn that these unexpected collapses in long-standing autocracies signal a historic shift where the regimes' inability to control human agency creates unpredictable instability for Russia and its neighbors.
- The Economist8 min
Putin's games with the West
Former chess grandmaster and exiled activist Garry Kasparov analyzes Vladimir Putin's geopolitical strategy as a deceptive game of poker rather than transparent chess, detailing how Western inaction during conflicts in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria has repeatedly emboldened the Russian leader. Kasparov critiques the failure of past engagement policies and argues that the West must now shift toward a rigorous strategy of isolation and deterrence to impose long-term strategic losses on Russia. He proposes concrete countermeasures including economic sanctions, visa restrictions, and asset seizures to counter Putin's use of blackmail and secrecy.