Russian Roulette

In this special CSIS crossover episode with Russian Roulette’s sister podcast, The Eurofile, Max Bergmann and co-host Donatienne Ruy welcome Tom Wright, senior fellow at Brookings and former Senior Director for Strategic Planning at the United States National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden administration, to discuss his recent article in Foreign Affairs outlining a U.S. strategy for Russia-Ukraine negotiations.  The interview covers the current state of play in negotiations, Trump and Biden’s respective strategies toward Europe, and Tom's experience in government on a range of issues, including countering alignment between U.S. adversaries and competitors.  For the complete episode, covering big news in European defense and more, visit The Eurofile

Maria spoke with Kate Bondar and Sam Bendett about their work on the latest drone and artificial intelligence technologies being employed on the battlefield in Ukraine. Read Kate's latest report, "Ukraine’s Future Vision and Current Capabilities for Waging AI-Enabled Autonomous Warfare" at CSIS.org.

Max and Maria welcomed Rose Gottemoeller back to the show, to discuss the ongoing negotiations between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. As a former American diplomat who has sat across from the Russians to negotiate international treaties, she shared her insights about what she is watching as this process unfolds. This conversation was recorded on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

Maria was joined by Tinatin Japaridze and Volodymyr Dubovyk to discuss how post-Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine and the states of the South Caucasus, are reckoning with the Trump administration's positions on the war in Ukraine. This conversation was recorded on Friday, March 7, 2025.

Max and Maria sat down with Michael Kimmage and Dara Massicot for an event in the CSIS studio to discuss the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The conversation took stock of the current situation on the battlefield, the state of affairs within Russia and Ukraine right now, and the diplomatic prospects for the kind of negotiated settlement currently being advocated for by the Trump administration. This conversation was recorded on February 20, 2025. The full video recording of the event is available at CSIS.org

Max and Maria were recently joined by Michael Kimmage and Jeffrey Mankoff for a live event in the CSIS broadcast studio to discuss the team's recent work outlining a new European strategy for containing Russia. This conversation was recorded on January 30, 2025. For a video recording of this event, please go to CSIS.org.

On today's episode, Max and Maria give their initial takes on the news that U.S. and Russian negotiators met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 18 to begin efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine, notably without representatives from Ukraine or European nations present. This episode was recorded on February 18, as this story was still developing.

Max and Maria spoke with historian Sergey Radchenko about his latest book, To Run the World: The Kremlin's Cold War Bid for Global Power, and how the study of Soviet foreign policy can help us understand Russia's current approach to global affairs. Sergey's book is available for purchase from Cambridge University Press.

Maria spoke with Hanna Notte and Natasha Hall about the new balance of forces in the Middle East at the start of 2025, and what the current geopolitical situation in the region means for Russia.

Max and Maria were joined by Dr. Sam Greene to reflect on a quarter century of Putinism in Russia, how Vladimir Putin's rule has changed the country, and where his regime might be headed from here. Follow Sam's writing on Substack by subscribing to his blog, TL;DRussia.