September 7, 2026: Watching Them Squirm

At the SCO summit in Bishkek, Narendra Modi did something no one does to Vladimir Putin in public: he lectured him, urging him to move from “endless war” to “the end of war.” Putin sat and swallowed. Russian state television declined to show the moment, offering viewers a warm portrait of Russian-Indian friendship instead.

Why does it matter? Because pressure is supposed to flow the other way. Sunday’s Vesti broadcast lingered over Putin’s meeting with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan at the SCO summit, where the Russian president squeezed Armenia to choose between the European and Russian markets — a familiar spectacle presenting Putin as the big man watching smaller leaders squirm. In the same episode, he is shown receiving Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at a gaudy red table resembling a poker game, implying that Putin holds all the cards. In reality, Russia has been reduced to a supplicant to China. Putin continues to court Xi Jinping, who flaunts nothing, promises nothing, commits to nothing, and lets Power of Siberia 2 hang unsigned.

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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