While the world reacted with shock to the dramatic U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, the Kremlin's response remains strikingly circumspect, fueling speculation of a high-stakes backstage deal and a "new Yalta" establishing spheres of influence from Caracas to Kyiv. In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday discuss the strategic calculus behind Russian media's handling of the Venezuela story and the potentially fabricated drone assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin at his Valdai residence.

As 2025 draws to a close, Vesti Nedeli delivers a confident verdict on Vladimir Putin's leadership: the Russian president remains unbowed by Western pressure. State media portrays Europeans as exhausted "piglets" dependent on U.S. sponsorship, while Putin himself is calm, patient and resilient in his phone call with Donald Trump on Ukraine. In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday explore what this carefully curated narrative reveals about the Kremlin's image-making, and whether a new national ideology is taking shape.

Russian state television depicts a Europe unraveling under the weight of its own security fantasies, and the specter of escalation—dirty bombs included—is discussed. In this episode, Andy Kuchins and Chris Monday explore what this message reveals about Moscow’s confidence and its anxieties.