Radio War Nerd EP #31—Russian Deep State, with Andrei Soldatov
FSB, the Russian Deep State, Edward Snowden
Guest: Andrei Soldatov, investigative reporter in Moscow
Great 90-minute interview with fearless Russian investigative reporter Andrei Soldatov on topics ranging from 2006 Lebanon War between Israel & Hezbollah, to rise of FSB Deep State under Putin, the strangulation of Russia's once-wild Internet space, and Edward Snowden's "strange" refusal to meet with Russian journalists . . . Post-interview, War Nerd discusses pustules and current events, reads some Radio War Nerd subscriber comments . . .
Total episode time: 2:28:54
Comments (10)
Hey guys, thought you might get a kick out of the Reddit thread where Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesperson for the US counter ISIL campaign answers some user's questions. My favourite was where he was asked to comment on Russian strategy and replies with "What Russian strategy?" <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4i5r4h/hey_reddit_im_col_steve_warren_spokesman_for/d2vavbx" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4i5r4h/hey_reddit_im_col_steve_warren_spokesman_for/d2vavbx</a>
Obschestvo "pamyat'" (общество 'память')
Thought that was one of the best episodes so far, which is saying something. Anyone know the Yegor Letov song that's played right before the interview starts?
Thought that was one of the best episodes so far, which is saying something. Anyone know the Yegor Letov song that's played right before the interview starts?
The Snowden part struck me to be somewhat disingenuous. Snowden has a really good defense for being in Russia, given the fact the US cancelled his visa and he thus could not continue travel from his planned stopover. You forgot to mention how Morales' plane was forced to land in Austria simply on grounds of a rumour that Snowden might be hiding on that flight, so here is also a good explanation for why Snowden chose to route via Russia, which was the country least likely to directly turn him over to US authorities. I think it is safe to say that Snowden did come to an agreement with the Russian secret service which was the basis for him to be allowed to stay and maybe the propaganda reasons that you explained in the show really are the motivator behind Russia allowing him to stay. But then again, Snowden did not have any choice as you did Mark, when you could leave Russia after the Exile was shut down. In essence, given the US behaviour Snowden was the "bitch" of Russia's security services the moment he stepped on that first leg of his flight to south america and he accepted a deal that would allow him to continue criticise what the NSA does, which was his original fight, while staying clear of Russian policy and being of limited propaganda value to Russian government.
I still haven't heard any good explanation as to why, given that Snowden is so risk-averse, he did not just make a deal with Greenwald to be an anonymous source. Hell, Chelsea Manning stayed anonymous at least until her chat buddy ratted her out, and she didn't have the benefit of Snowden's CIA elite "opsec" training. Not that I've searched too hard, but I have not noticed anyone mention the possibility of Snowden remaining anonymous. I mean who would want that kind of notoriety?
Great episode. Bought both the books. Appreciate an episode on waht's happened to war journalists/ism as mentioned in the show
Anyone know the name of the song played at ~2:30 ?
Общество «Память» (Society "Memory") by Russian punk group Grazhdanskaya Oborona ("State Defense") from the album Всё идёт по плану (It's all going according to plan). The singer is Yegor Letov, who died in 2008.
This episode was expertly timed ! I had just sat down with a pot of tea longing for a new War Nerd episode :D