<p>Mitchell Orenstein is a professor of Central and East European Politics in the Slavic department at the University of Pennsylvania and an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard. His research focuses on the political economy and international affairs of Central and Eastern Europe.</p><br><p>This episode is the latest installment to the four-part series on Reconsidering Russia, where we try to dig into Russia's historical and geopolitical context to help you better understand some of their moves today and what's going on in their country today.</p><br><p>Tune in to hear Eric, Xander, and Professor Orenstein dive deep into Russia's real objective in Ukraine, Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership, why Russia really needs to diversify its economy, and so much more.</p><br><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>01:35 Why Geopolitics is not about reforms or democracy</p><p>03:49 What does Russia really want?</p><p>05:49 Understanding Russia's national interests and foreign policy preferences</p><p>12:59 Eastern Vs. Western-leaning periods of Russian leadership</p><p>16:33 Comparing Russian perceptions to the American interpretation</p><p>20:10 What does the 'Near Abroad' mean?</p><p>20:54 The democratization of Russia's 'Near Abroad'</p><p>24:12 Consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union</p><p>28:10 The strategic and fundamental importance of Ukraine</p><p>32:14 Russian interests in Finland</p><p>34:57 The Nature of Germany's relationship with Russia</p><p>39:01 Caucasus as a region of strategic importance to Russia</p><p>44:15 Chinese and Russian interests in South-East Asia</p><p>47:15 China-Russia relations: Eternal rivals or emerging alliance&nbsp;</p><p>50:41 Russia's views on China's growth in power and influence&nbsp;</p><p>52:38 Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril Islands&nbsp;</p><p>54:50 Thoughts on Russia's domestic politics and foreign policy</p><p>58:35 Why Russia really needs to diversify its economy</p><p>01:01:58 What to expect from Russia in the next 5 to 10 years</p><p>01:05:18 Russia - a gas station with nuclear weapons</p><p>01:08:03 Parting thoughts&nbsp;</p><br><p><strong>Links and Resources:</strong></p><p><a href="https://reconsidermedia.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reconsidermedia.com</a></p><p>Mitchel's website -<a href="https://www.mitchellorenstein.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.mitchellorenstein.com/</a></p><p>Mitchel's profile on the Foreign Affairs Magazine - <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/mitchell-orenstein" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/mitchell-orenstein</a></p><p>Reconsider Media on Twitter - <a href="https://twitter.com/reconsidermedia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/reconsidermedia</a></p><p>Reconsider Media on Facebook -<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ReConsiderMedia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/ReConsiderMedia/</a></p><p>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/reconsiderpodcast">http://supporter.acast.com/reconsiderpodcast</a>.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>