IFFS Play

Gustaf Arrhenius, professor of political philosophy, interviews Janine R. Wedel about the war in Ukraine, the origins of the oligarchs and Putin's western enablers. Janine R. Wedel is an American anthropologist and university professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, Washington and a researcher at the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm. She is an internationally renowned expert on the political culture of Eastern Europe and Russia, and has spent several years doing research in Ukraine. Topics in the interview: What is an oligarch? Where did they come from? How did they become rich? Are there rival groups of oligarchs in Russia today? How the restructuring of the Russian economy after the fall of the Soviet Union laid the groundwork for today's oligarchs and made Putin's rise to power possible. How Western advisors, firms and institutions was integral in creating this economic system that has turned into a kleptocracy. Anatoly Borisovich Chubais recently resigned form his post as a close advisor to Putin. Wedel explains who he is, his Western connections, what part he played in the rise of Putin, and why he leaves now.