Russia Decoded

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  January 18, 2026: Europe Between a Rock and a Hard Place

  January 18, 2026: Europe Between a Rock and a Hard Place President Donald Trump’s announcement of punitive tariffs targeting European allies who oppose the U.S. acquisition of Greenland has plunged NATO into a state of unprecedented chaos. In Moscow, Russian state media openly relishes the spectacle, portraying Western leaders as feckless and hopelessly paralyzed in

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  January 11, 2026: Might Makes Right?

  January 11, 2026: Might Makes Right? Russia’s recent Oreshnik missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Lviv, not far from the Polish border, is a new benchmark in the Kremlin’s campaign of intimidation against the West. As the Kremlin gauges the unpredictability of the second Trump administration in Venezuela and Greenland and tests the limits

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  January 4, 2026: Moscow’s Muted Response on Venezuela

  January 4, 2026: Moscow’s Muted Response on Venezuela While the world reacted with shock to the dramatic U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, the Kremlin’s response remains strikingly circumspect, fueling speculation of a high-stakes backstage deal and a “new Yalta” establishing spheres of influence from Caracas to Kyiv. In this episode,

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  December 28, 2025: The Kremlin’s Year in Review

  December 28, 2025: The Kremlin’s Year in Review As 2025 draws to a close, Vesti Nedeli delivers a confident verdict on Vladimir Putin’s leadership: the Russian president remains unbowed by Western pressure. State media portrays Europeans as exhausted “piglets” dependent on U.S. sponsorship, while Putin himself is calm, patient and resilient in his phone call

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  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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