How do you tell the history of a whole country through its women? And what can it tell us about the world today? These are the questions Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe set out to answer in her new book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy.

Having reported from, and on, Russia for publications including The New Yorker and Foreign Policy for more than a decade, Ioffe says she has repeatedly been asked to explain the actions and motivations of one man: Vladimir Putin. 

Motherland is, she says, partly a response to Putin, through her desire to show that Russia is much more than one person, let alone one man. 

In this conversation Ioffe talks to Mishal about reclaiming Russia’s women, about Donald Trump’s hollowing out of American institutions and why Putinism will endure. (Note: This podcast contains a discussion of sexual violence that some listeners may find distressing.)

02:30 - “I was born in a country that no longer exists”
03:55 - The anti-feminist at Lenin’s side during the Revolution
06:55 - Reluctancy to write about Russian women
12:55 - What a “horrible boyfriend” Vladimir Putin was
16:50 - Return to Russia, oligarch hunters and ‘trad wives’
22:13 - Alexei Navalny, “the last shred of hope”
29:20 - Can Russia sustain the war in Ukraine?  
32:32 - Trump’s assault on US institutions, faster than Putin
34:30 - American authoritarianism, risk of “one party state”

Watch this podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS

You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net

Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

How do you tell the history of a whole country through its women? And what can it tell us about the world today? These are the questions Russian-American journalist Julia Ioffe set out to answer in her new book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy.
Having reported from, and on, Russia for publications including The New Yorker and Foreign Policy for more than a decade, Ioffe says she has repeatedly been asked to explain the actions and motivations of one man: Vladimir Putin.&nbsp;
Motherland is, she says, partly a response to Putin, through her desire to show that Russia is much more than one person, let alone one man. In this conversation Ioffe talks to Mishal about reclaiming Russia&rsquo;s women, about Donald Trump&rsquo;s hollowing out of American institutions and why Putinism will endure. (Note: This podcast contains a discussion of sexual violence that some listeners may find distressing.)
02:30 - &ldquo;I was born in a country that no longer exists&rdquo; 03:55 - The anti-feminist at Lenin&rsquo;s side during the Revolution 06:55 - Reluctancy to write about Russian women 12:55 - What a &ldquo;horrible boyfriend&rdquo; Vladimir Putin was 16:50 - Return to Russia, oligarch hunters and &lsquo;trad wives&rsquo; 22:13 - Alexei Navalny, &ldquo;the last shred of hope&rdquo; 29:20 - Can Russia sustain the war in Ukraine?&nbsp; 32:32 - Trump&rsquo;s assault on US institutions, faster than Putin 34:30 - American authoritarianism, risk of &ldquo;one party state&rdquo;
Watch this podcast: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0Ns_wjGlmjlPz0cded0nTYS </a>You can find the written version of this interview with Mishal&rsquo;s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview">https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview </a>Contact The Mishal Husain Show mishalshow@bloomberg.net Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them.

Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

Make sense of the world with one essential conversation, every week. Mishal Husain, one of Britain's best interviewers, brings her signature blend of curiosity and tenacity to weekly conversations with world leaders, business titans, and cultural icons, revealing who they really are and how they see the world changing around them.
Subscribe today at Bloomberg.com/audio or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. For annotated transcripts of Mishal's conversations head to Bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interview

The Mishal Husain Show

Julia Ioffe Wants You to Know Russia Is Bigger Than Putin 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/babec6aa-55ea-40e0-9bd5-b38d013fc07c/transcript

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