There is a war being waged on Ukraine, and we need to talk about it.
In this episode, we are joined by an anonymous Russian civilian to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. Did you know that even calling this war "a war" can get a Russian citizen thrown in jail for up to 15 years? It's heavy stakes to speak the truth, and we are so grateful to our guest for being brave enough to do so.
We start with a brief recap of how we got here, including historical and recent events, and the entangled relationship between Russia and Ukraine that led to the start of this war. We next speculate what factors led to Putin deciding to take such extreme action (including yes-men, COVID isolation, and believing your own propaganda), how divisive the war is amongst Russians, especially along socio-economic/education level lines, how the Russian state has stepped up its propaganda and censorship since the war first began, what economic sanctions actually mean for the people of Russia, how all of this has affected our guest personally, and how/when we hope all of this ends.
Note: The original intent of the episode was to have both a Ukrainian guest and a Russian guest on simultaneously to provide both sides' perspectives, but unfortunately given the realities of the sensitivities and dangers around discussing the war, we were unable to secure a Ukrainian guest in time. If you are Ukrainian or know someone who is and would like to share your story/perspective on what's going on and how it's affecting you and your loved ones, please reach out to us at [email protected], as we are open to recording a follow-up episode with a Ukrainian guest, and/or send us your story in written form and we can read it on the show as well.