Podcast
Russia Decoded
Hosted by Center for the National Interest · EN
Russia Decoded explains how the Kremlin shapes its narrative of current domestic and international events through tightly curated state news broadcasts. Co-hosts Andy Kuchins, a senior fellow at CFTNI and adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, and Chris Monday, a professor of economics at Dongseo University in Busan, South Korea, are veteran observers of Soviet and Russian media. Kuchins and Monday frame their discussions around the weekly Russian news round-up program Vesti Nedeli (“News of the Week”), broadcast on Russia’s Channel 2 on Sunday evenings. Viewed through the right lens, Vesti Nedeli offers a uniquely revealing perspective on how Vladimir Putin and Russian elites understand the world, and how they seek to influence it.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
May 25, 2026: The War Goes on and on and on...
1w ago01:02:02Tap to summarizeOn May 22, a drone strike tore through a student dormitory in Starobilsk, leaving dozens of civilians dead or wounded, and Moscow wasted no time casting blame on Kyiv. In "retaliation," the Kremlin launched one of the largest missile and drone barrages on the Ukrainian capital since the war began, complete with an Oreshnik ballistic missile and an unprecedented advisory for foreigners to flee Kyiv. Putin, it seems, is climbing the escalation ladder. And Starobilsk is just one of many grim stories this week: Russia and Belarus conducted joint nuclear exercises, Russian jets buzzed a British spy plane over the Black Sea, and Ukrainian drones have continued drifting into the Baltic States. Is Putin a master of brinkmanship who has locked himself into a game of chicken with the West, or is he now simply stuck as his "Special Military Operation" enters its 222nd week?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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →May 18, 2026: The Boy Who Cried Sarmat
2w ago00:52:18Tap to summarizeOn May 12, Russia test-fired the world's largest missile, the 208-ton Sarmat ICBM. That same week, Ukrainian drones penetrated Moscow's heavily-defended airspace to strike industrial plants and oil refineries. Against the backdrop of this asymmetry, Sergey Karaganov has returned to state television to argue that Russia must restore its credibility by striking a NATO country, and Vesti Nedeli's tone toward the West has sharpened across the board. Has the Kremlin's nuclear bluff simply crossed into boy-who-cried-wolf territory, or does the continued saber-rattling herald potential new schemes to divide Kyiv's Western supporters?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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →May 11, 2026: "The Matter Is Coming to an End"
3w ago00:52:28Tap to summarizeDuring his lengthy press conference following the May 9 Victory Day parade, Vladimir Putin slipped in an almost offhand remark that "the matter is coming to an end" — a phrase Western outlets quickly seized on as a signal that the war in Ukraine may finally be winding down. But was that really what Putin meant? Read in the context of continued nuclear threats on state television, North Korean troops marching across Red Square, and a new Russian law authorizing military intervention to "rescue" citizens abroad, the remark begins to sound less like capitulation and more like its opposite. Is Putin's comment an admission of exhaustion, or a threat of escalation toward the West?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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →May 3, 2026: Murky Signals From Moscow
May 500:51:01Tap to summarizeLast week, Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute phone call with Donald Trump, ostensibly to express concern over a recent assassination attempt and to revive the "spirit of Anchorage." Yet for all the warm headlines, Russian state media's coverage of the call and other top news stories has been unusually murky, with signals pulling in different directions on Iran, Ukraine, and Europe. Did Putin place the call to head off King Charles's potential influence on Trump? Why has Moscow's nuclear rhetoric toward Europe suddenly gone quiet? And why is the buildup to the May 9 Victory Day parade so conspicuously muted? This week's Vesti Nedeli broadcast hints at a Kremlin calibrating. But calibrating toward what?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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →April 19, 2026: Turning the Screws on Europe
Apr 2100:51:45Tap to summarizeIs Russian state media prepping its audience for a showdown with Europe? Recent broadcasts have framed European drone factories as legitimate military targets and accused Kyiv of deliberately dragging the continent into conflict with Moscow. Beneath the rhetoric, a quietly advancing Duma law (reportedly drafted inside Putin's own family) would give the Kremlin sweeping new authority to deploy its military abroad. Meanwhile, coverage of Donald Trump has turned sharply hostile, with Moscow mocking the U.S. war effort as a "holy war" led by "crusaders" in the White House. And as Vesti Nedeli continues its glowing coverage of Sino-Russian ties, do these stories signal that the Kremlin is abandoning any pretense of diplomacy with the West?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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →April 12, 2026: Moscow Loses Its Hungarian Trump Card
Apr 1400:42:43Tap to summarizeOn Sunday, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party secured a historic victory in Hungary's parliamentary election, ousting current prime minister Viktor Orbán and depriving the Kremlin of its most reliable tool for blocking European assistance to Ukraine. While muted on the election results, Russian state media has continued to hammer at Europe, deriding NATO members as "junk bond" allies and highlighting the Royal Navy’s recent failure to confront a Russian incursion into British territorial waters. This hardline narrative even extends across the Atlantic. The collapse of the Islamabad peace talks has triggered sharp Russian criticism of president Donald Trump’s "madman" negotiation tactics and his megalomaniacal threat to destroy Iranian civilization.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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →April 5, 2026: "Once Upon a Time, There Was NATO"
Apr 700:53:44Tap to summarizeIn a televised display reminiscent of the infamous Trump-Zelensky Oval Office meeting in February 2025, Vladimir Putin last week delivered a dressing-down to Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan in the Kremlin. The Russian president warned Armenia that any further pivot toward the European Union and away from Russia would meet severe economic consequences. This public spectacle comes in the lead-up to Hungary's high-stakes parliamentary elections on April 12, where Moscow and Washington both appear eager to bolster incumbent prime minister Viktor Orbán and his anti-EU agenda. As Donald Trump now criticizes European allies for their refusal to participate in his war on Iran, Russian state media speculates whether the Middle East conflict will spell the end of the nearly eight decade NATO alliance.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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →March 29, 2026: Iran Dominates the Russian News Cycle
Mar 3100:44:00Tap to summarizeWith U.S. military operations now in their fifth week, the Iran War has become the centerpiece of Russian news coverage, which portrays the operation as a "catastrophe" exposing the limits of American power. The Kremlin’s narrative has even turned personal, mocking the Trump administration’s lack of sophistication. This saturation of Gulf coverage has naturally pushed Russia's own "Special Military Operation" to the fringes of the news cycle, with state media conveniently ignoring rising drone attacks within Russian borders and renewed calls for trilateral peace negotiations from Volodymyr Zelensky.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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →March 22, 2026: Is a Digital Iron Curtain Falling on Russia?
Mar 2400:56:05Tap to summarizeWith the war in Iran now in its fourth week, Russian state media continues to showcase the conflict as the latest act of Western "lawlessness." The heavy focus on the Middle East now serves as a convenient screen for the "special military operation" in Ukraine, which has largely vanished from headline news as Russian forces face retreat and the sudden loss of Starlink connectivity. Behind this silence, the Kremlin is intensifying its "ideological warfare," moving to dismantle digital bridges to the West by targeting the public's reliance on Telegram and rapidly restricting broader internet access to create a 1980s-style information vacuum.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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
Transcribe →March 15, 2026: A Tale of Two Military Operations
Mar 1700:57:20Tap to summarizeThe Kremlin has used the unfolding war in Iran to frame the United States as a reckless "wild elephant" sowing global chaos. Highlighting the destruction of U.S. bases and the "crusading" religious fervor of U.S. military leaders, Russian state media openly contrasts Donald Trump's "Middle Eastern catastrophe" with Vladimir Putin’s "special military operation" in Ukraine; whereas the American effort is depicted as an idiotic and aimless video game, Russia’s campaign is portrayed as a measured, well-planned, and unalloyed success. With potential windfall oil profits now added as a bonus thanks to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, these television broadcasts paint Russia as an island of stability in an increasingly turbulent world.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.Have feedback? Email us at RussiaDecoded@cftni.org.
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