Under the overcoat

On 1 September, Russian high schools transitioned to new "patriotic" history textbooks authored by one of Russia's staunchest conservatives, former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. How do these textbooks mirror the core tenets of the Russian regime's ideology? What stance do they take on figures like Stalin, the dissolution of the USSR, and Russia’s war in Ukraine? What narratives will Russian students be exposed to based on these textbooks? How has the Russian and Soviet history curriculum changed in the past?

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. For a closer look at history, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellows Ksenia Luchenko, Kirill Shamiev, and Mikhail Komin. 

Bookshelf: 
The House of Government: A Saga of the Russian Revolution

Soldiers and the Soviet State: Civil-Military Relations from Brezhnev to Gorbachev | Timothy J. Colton

Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation
Alexei Yurchak

Under the Overcoat: the past is unpredictable

The Russian Orthodox Church is supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine in its sermons, sending priests to the front, and collecting humanitarian aid for soldiers and the occupied Ukrainian territories. It is also involved in the administration of the occupied territories and in promoting propaganda narratives abroad. So why did the head of the Church, Patriarch Kirill, bet on Putin? How influential is the Church in Russian politics and society? What will happen to it after the war and will it survive Putin's regime? 

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To dive deeper into the role of the Russian Orthodox Church, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellow Ksenia Luchenko and Alexander Agadjanian, a senior research fellow at Yerevan State University.  

Bookshelf: 

Daniel Stein, Interpreter: A Novel | Ludmila Ulitskaya 
La Sainte Russie contre l’Occident 

Everyday Religiosity and the Politics of Belonging in Ukraine | Catherine Wanner  

Understanding World Christianity: Russia | Alexander S. Agadjanian (Author), Scott M. Kenworthy

Under the overcoat: God save the Tsar

How do Russian officials "coexist"  with the war nearly two years after the invasion? How has the bureaucratic system adapted to the requirements of the war? Do officials who openly endorse the invasion or are deployed to work in occupied territories receive better roles or resources ? Does the relative efficiency of the Russian bureaucracy boost the Kremlin’s capacity to sustain the conflict?

ECFR’s new podcast on Russia, “Under the Overcoat”, will explore the deeper trends beneath the surface of daily politics. To investigate the role of Russian bureaucrats, our host Kadri Liik is joined by ECFR visiting fellow Mikhail Komin and Russian political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann. 

Bookshelf: 
Legislation as a Political Process and Practical Political Science: A Guide to Contact with Reality
Nomenklatura by Voslenskiy

Under the overcoat: the death of a clerk

Short interviews and comments by our experts and others on breaking news and key topics from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) - the first pan-European think-tank. Launched in October 2007, our objective is to conduct research and promote informed debate across Europe on the development of coherent and effective European values-based foreign policy.

Listen also to Mark Leonard's The World in 30 Minutes, our weekly series in which we explore the big issues in foreign policy: https://soundcloud.com/ecfr

Under the Overcoat: the past is unpredictable

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