Power Vertical Podcast Ep. 64

Confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Russia remain remarkably low but there has been a suspicious spike in cases of pneumonia. Opposition rallies have been banned in the interest of public health but not preparations for the May 9 Victory Day parade and not the April 22 referendum on Vladimir Putin’s proposed constitutional amendments.

Oil prices are tanking and the ruble is crashing but the Kremlin continues with happy talk and insists the crisis is contained and under control. And abroad, the Putin regime clearly views the global pandemic as not just a crisis, but an opportunity.

Listen to the Power Vertical Podcast as Brian Whitmore, Maria Snegovaya, and Donald N. Jensen dissect the latest from Russia in the time of coronavirus.

Intro Audio Clip: “Message from the President to the Federal Assembly” via the Kremlin under CC BY 4.0. 

Photo: By Geoffrey Werner via Pexels. 

WP Post Author

Brian Whitmore

Brian Whitmore is Director of the Russia Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Before joining CEPA he was Senior Russia Analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He also worked as a foreign correspondent for The Boston Globe in Moscow and Prague; as a graduate instructor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina; and as a visiting lecturer in the History Faculty at Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine and the International Relations Faculty at St. Petersburg State University.

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March 20, 2020

The Power Vertical is a CEPA podcast covering the Kremlin for Kremlin watchers. All opinions are those of the guests and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.