The Leviathan Awakes

Sergei Medvedev on the resurrection and future of the Russian authoritarian state

How has the Russian state evolved since the fall of the USSR, and is there a way to oppose it? Sergei Medvedev is the winner, with his book The Return of the Russian Leviathan, of the 2020 Pushkin House Book Prize. Here, he speaks to Andrew Jack, journalist with the Financial Times and chair of the advisory committee of the Book Prize, about the current state of the Russian State. Medvedev recently lost his job at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow due to his outspoken critique of Putin’s regime, but he describes how he won’t follow the example of other critics in leaving Russia.

This episode was presented and recorded by Andrew Jack, and was edited and produced for Pushkin House by Rafy Hay. Listen here on the Pushkin House website, on Apple podcasts, or via Acast.