September 21, 2026: “Victory for All of Us”

Russians went to the polls on Sunday for the first nationwide elections since the launch of the “special military operation” in 2022, choosing a new parliament and regional and local officials, even as thousands of Ukrainian drones attacked across the country. On Vesti Nedeli, the Kremlin’s talking heads celebrated the vote as a triumph of stability and a mandate for Putin’s war. State television shows victory on every front: Germany’s governing coalition continues to get battered at the polls and Kyiv is reeling from yet another corruption scandal. But what will “victory” really look like after years of war?

In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday unpack how Vladimir Putin and Russian elites understand the world, and how they seek to influence it.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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