Russia Decoded

  • December 14, 2025: Beware What You Wish For

    December 14, 2025: Beware What You Wish For Russian state television depicts a Europe unraveling under the weight of its own security fantasies, and the specter of escalation—dirty bombs included—is discussed. In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday explore what this message reveals about Moscow’s confidence and its anxieties. Listen now on Apple, Spotify,

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  • December 7, 2025: Putin Visits India

    December 7, 2025: Putin Visits India Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India last week to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warm embrace, and Russian state media seized the moment to showcase Moscow’s “indispensable” global partnerships. At the same time, Vesti Nedeli continues to push a darker narrative about its war against Kyiv, portraying Ukrainians as

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  • November 30, 2025: Putin Plays for Time on the Trump Peace Plan

    November 30, 2025: Putin Plays for Time on the Trump Peace Plan Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to project total confidence, signaling that only he will decide the fate of the “Trump peace plan.” Meanwhile, Russian media remains intent on showcasing Ukraine’s corruption scandals, from Andriy Yermak’s downfall to Timur Mindich’s midnight escape to Israel.

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  • November 23, 2025: Russia Reacts to Trump’s Peace Plan

    November 23, 2025: Russia Reacts to Trump’s Peace Plan Vesti Nedeli, Russia’s Channel 2 news program, opens the week by declaring “Kupyansk is ours” and discussing what it pointedly calls the “Trump peace plan” for Ukraine. Why is Moscow suddenly emphasizing flexibility while keeping its distance from a proposal that could force Russia to part

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  • Introducing Russia Decoded

    Russia Decoded explains how the Kremlin shapes its narrative of current domestic and international events through tightly curated state news broadcasts. Co-hosts Andy Kuchins, a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, and Chris Monday, a professor of economics at Dongseo University in Busan,

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