logo
episode-header-image
May 2022
23m 58s

Bill Browder: Sanctioning Russia

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Stephen Sackur speaks to Bill Browder, the American investor who made a fortune in post-Soviet Russia before falling foul of Vladimir Putin. Browder has long campaigned for Russia’s economic isolation - his lobbying has been instrumental in the US passing the Magnitsky Act in 2012, which imposed targeted sanctions on Russian individuals directly connected to rights abuses. Thanks to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now facing further Western sanctions. But Putin’s war machine hasn't yet ground to a halt and he shows no sign of reversing course. Has Russia’s economic resilience been underestimated?

(Photo: Bill Browder in the Hardtalk studio)

Up next
Jun 14
Dr Tedros, WHO: Viruses are invisible enemy
“There is more spending in defence and less spending in global health or in public health or health security, which makes us vulnerable...Because the invisible enemy could be more impactful. Imagine, have you ever seen a war in recent memory that killed 20 million people? Why can ... Show More
23m 1s
Jun 11
Paul McCartney, musician: I often think about the past
Mark Savage speaks to musician Paul McCartney. Born in Liverpool, England, during the Second World War, he found fame as a member of the legendary British band The Beatles in the 1960s, widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in music history.McCartney shared primary ... Show More
25m 6s
Jun 9
Mohammed Dewji, billionaire: I want to give back
“I do want to make money, but I want to make money in the right way, ethically. But more importantly, I want use this money to be able to give back.”Charles Gitonga speaks to entrepreneur and businessman Mohammed Dewji about becoming one of Africa’s youngest billionaires and how ... Show More
23m 1s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2024
Putin’s nemesis in the west
<p>Bill Browder tells Gideon the story of his battle against Russian corruption, which took off&nbsp;when his lawyer was murdered in a Russian prison in 2009. The war in Ukraine has turbocharged his campaign. Can he now take it further to persuade western governments to use froze ... Show More
26m 32s
Apr 2019
Bill Browder: Putin’s Public Enemy No. 1
Bill Browder is a whistleblower against the most powerful and richest thug on the planet: Russian President Vladimir Putin. In response, the Kremlin has expelled and convicted him twice in absentia on trumped-up charges. Browder, a financier who made a fortune in Russia, talks wi ... Show More
38m 18s
Feb 2022
Sanctions against Russia take bite
How the latest penalties for invading Ukraine will hit Russia, and may also spill over into the world economy.Ed Butler explores what the democratic world hopes to achieve with their targeting of the Russian Central Bank's currency reserves, as well as the exclusion of major Russ ... Show More
17m 29s
Feb 2022
War in Ukraine: what is Putin’s end game?
As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second day, we bring this special episode of the World Review podcast. Ukraine is facing an onslaught from Russian forces on several fronts, with troops entering the northern districts of the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian presi ... Show More
20m 21s
Sep 2022
Putin’s Escalation of the War in Ukraine
<p>In a speech on Wednesday, President Vladimir V. Putin said that he would require hundreds of thousands more Russians to fight in Ukraine — and alarmed the West by once again raising the specter of nuclear force.</p><p>The mobilization signals that Mr. Putin is turning the war ... Show More
21m 15s
Jun 2024
Ist Putins Russland zum Scheitern verurteilt?
Russlands Angriff auf die Ukraine hätte in einer raschen Annexion enden sollen. Stattdessen beißt sich Wladimir Putin seit nunmehr zwei Jahren die Zähne am ukrainischen Widerstand aus. Die Folge ist das größte Blutvergießen in Europa seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Doch nicht nur da ... Show More
32m 45s
Feb 2024
Ep26. Was Alexei Navalny a Martyr for Democracy?
In the days following Navalny’s murder, Western leaders have made all too predictable speeches and issued all too predictable condemnations. But as of yet, very little concrete action has been taken to respond to the murder of Russia’s most prominent opposition politician. The We ... Show More
58m 43s
Feb 2022
Russia invades Ukraine – how far will Putin go?
The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has ordered Russian troops to cross the border into eastern Ukraine on what he claims is a “peacekeeping mission” in defence of the breakaway states of Donetsk and Luhansk. Western leaders have condemned the move as the beginning of an inv ... Show More
31m 40s
Feb 2024
Who is left to oppose Putin now?
Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russia’s government, has died in a Russian prison, just months after he was placed in a high security cell in a remote Siberian penal colony. His allies, and his wife Yulia Navalnaya, blame President Vladimir Putin and say it was under ... Show More
15m 35s