logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2022
26m 6s

Why are Russian oligarchs only now in th...

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

As governments around the world race to sanction associates of Vladimir Putin, the British media turns its attention to the role Russian oligarchs have played in public life. This week an edition of Panorama aired allegations about the source of Roman Abramovich's wealth. At the weekend The Sunday Times reported that Evgeny Lebedev was made a peer despite the concerns of the security services. But why is it only now that the mainstream press has put the oligarchs in the spotlight? What stopped them before?

Guests: Paul Caruana Galizia, reporter at Tortoise Media; Adam Bienkov, Political Editor at Byline Times; Laura Kayali, Tech Correspondent at Politico; Natalia Antelava, journalist and co-founder of Coda Story, a global affairs news site; Lionel Barber, former editor of The Financial Times.

Producer: Hannah Sander

Studio engineer: Tim Heffer

Presenter: Katie Razzall

Up next
Yesterday
Gregg Wallace, The Salt Path, Oasis reunion tour, migrant small boats media coverage
Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins discuss some of the main media stories in the news this week including the latest allegations about TV presenter Gregg Wallace with Max Goldbart, International TV Editor at Deadline. French police have been filmed getting tough with migrants getting i ... Show More
42m 51s
Jul 2
Broadcasting Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, Tim Franks, F1’s media strategy
As Channel 4 airs the Gaza documentary that the BBC has shelved, we speak to Dorothy Byrne, former Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4; Rosamund Urwin from The Sunday Times; and Chris Banatvala, former Director of Standards at Ofcom, about why the broadcasters took cont ... Show More
42m 53s
Jun 25
Jimmy Lai - media tycoon and political prisoner, the new Wargame podcast, Tattle Life gossip website
Katie Razzall on some of this week's biggest media stories including an interview with Sebastien Lai, the son of the the political prisoner and media tycoon Jimmy Lai. We talk to Minal Modha Head of Sport Media Rights at Ampere Analysis about why the streaming giant Netflix is em ... Show More
43m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2022
Masha Gessen on Putin’s 'Profoundly Anti-Modern’ Worldview
For Western audiences, the past few weeks have been a torrent of information about what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine. Daily updates of Russian military advances. Horrifying videos of buildings exploding and innocent civilians being killed. Announcements of increasingly sever ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2022
9. The Emperor's Palace
President Putin tries to crush the leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny as Russians take to the streets in protest over pensions and local elections. And there are revelations about expensive watches and a secret and very opulent palace.To understand how Vladimir Putin rules ... Show More
30m 10s
Mar 2022
4. The Shallow Roots of Democracy
Cementing power in Russia, a revolution in Ukraine and a challenge to the US - Jonny Dymond examines Vladimir Putin’s second term as president. To help him make sense of how this tumultuous period from 2004 to 2008 began a path towards events we are witnessing today, he’s joined ... Show More
33m 5s
Apr 2022
'The word is a weapon, especially in times of war': Journalist and researcher Olga Yurkova talks about Russian propaganda - "Слово - это оружие, особенно во время войны". Журналист Ольга Юркова о росс
Interview with Olga Yurkova, journalist and co-founder of StopFake.org, an organisation dedicated to checking and debunking fake news in the global media. We talked about how Russian propaganda works, what main narratives it uses, and how the average person can tell truth from li ... Show More
43m 32s
Mar 2024
Ramadan repression in the West Bank
With the global media’s attention trained on Gaza since October 7, things have worsened for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and near impossible for journalists to cover. With their movement severely restricted, dozens of Palestinian journalists have been arrested, often h ... Show More
24m 29s
Apr 2022
Putin’s "Yes Men"
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Western allies were quick to slap sanctions on the wealthy oligarchs closely aligned with Vladimir Putin. But are they having an impact? CNN Contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty examines who is in Vladimir Putin’s inner circle ... Show More
18m 44s
May 2024
Exclusive investigation: The million pound properties owned by Putin’s regime
Day 819.Today, we unpack an exclusive Telegraph investigation into how much property the Russian government holds in London. Plus, we hear again from former Ukrainian MP Aliona Hlivco. Contributors:Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor, Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Aliona Hlivco (For ... Show More
53m 55s
Mar 2024
Putin's Russia: An election without democracy?
Today is the first day of voting in Russia's presidential election which is all but certain to hand Vladimir Putin another six years in power.Adam is joined by Catherine Belton, journalist and author of Putin’s People, and former British Defence Attaché to Moscow John Foreman. Th ... Show More
28m 59s
Mar 2022
1. The Moth
From street thug to spy – what the Russian president did before he came to power. To understand what Vladimir Putin might do in the future, you need to understand his past; where he’s come from, what he’s lived through, what he’s done. Jonny Dymond hears tales of secret agents, g ... Show More
30m 5s
Feb 2024
Bonus: The Global Jigsaw - Does Russia’s election matter?
Putin’s re-election is certain, but there is still a lot at stake for the Kremlin. We look into the efforts aimed at achieving unequivocal victory in what seems to be the most oppressive election in Russia for two decades. What are the stories state media can and cannot touch, ho ... Show More
36m 2s