In many ways, the Russia story over the past year can be summed up as a tale of two Tuesdays -- nine months apart.
On Tuesday March 18, there was Vladimir Putin's rousing, swaggering, chest-thumping speech to the nation announcing the annexation of Crimea and heralding Moscow's new dreams of empire. That was the day that Russia challenged the world order
And then the bill came due. On December 16, there was Black Tuesday, when the ruble crashed and the economy swooned under the weight of falling oil prices and Western sanctions. That was the day the world order bit back.
The Kremlin is no doubt feeling the heat. And on the first Power Vertical Podcast of 2015, we look at how it is likely to react.
Joining me are co-host Mark Galeotti, a professor at New York University, an expert on Russia's security services, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows; and Sean Guillory of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies and author of Sean's Russia Blog.
Also on the podcast, Mark, Sean and I discuss the different approaches Aleksei Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky are taking to oppose the Putin regime.
Enjoy...
Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to "The Power Vertical Podcast" on iTunes.
