Russia’s war “will last as long as Putin lives”
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What does Nina Khrushcheva’s background reveal about her perspective on Putin’s Russia?
How do we truly navigate life's hardest moments? I'm Julia Samuel, psychotherapist and best-selling author. In my podcast Therapy Works, I open the therapy room for candid, insightful conversations with people known and unknown. Discover what my guests have learnt and failed to learn about resilience and human connection. Listen to Therapy Works today wherever you get your podcasts.
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Again, the Kremlin is very tightly controlling the vote, not least because Putin's war is not going well and and he is under mounting political and economic pressure. After the election, the Russian president is then expected to order a very unpopular mobilization, so you can throw even more men into Ukraine's meat grinder. A high, high risk move. So is Putin approaching a make or break moment? I'm
Tom.
And I'm Patrick.
Welcome to The General and the Journalist.
Well, we're very lucky today because joining us to discuss all this is Nina Khrushcheva. Nina is professor of international affairs at the New School in New York City, a renowned expert on Vladimir Putin and how he's changed Russia, and she's also the great granddaughter of the former leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, who ran the country from nineteen fifty three to nineteen sixty-four. Nina, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Nina, can we start with a little bit about you first, if if you don't mind? You've got a very well known surname, obviously using the female version of it. Do you mind me asking, have you found living with that? Is it a bonus or or can it sometimes be a burden?
Well, neither. I'm his great granddaughter and I do have a life of my own. I have to represent the family because with that name you kind of have to speak for the family. But I always say I'm not a professional Khrushchev. And so I'm allowed to have opinions even on Khrushchev or Khrushchev foreign policy or domestic policy, uh, and whatnot. Also, I uh when where I teach at the new school, when I began teaching in the early two thousands, very few of them knew who Khrushchev was because the Cold War was far removed and the Soviet Union broke. ten years or more before that. But by now they absolutely have no idea who Khrushchev was. In fact, sometimes I ask people who do you know who were on the other side of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Nobody knows. Sometimes they say Gorbachev just because they know of Gorbachev. But that's about that basically about it.
You were seven years old when your grandfather or great grandfather died, although he adopted your mother uh so you're technically both fascinatingly. But you were only seven, but What do you think he would make of Vladimir Putin today and what Vladimir Putin has has turned into if he was still alive?
I wouldn't imagine he'll he'd like Putin, although of course he was very ardent Stalin supporter when Stalin was alive. Then he actually turned against Stalin with a secret speech in nineteen fifty six denouncing Stalin's crimes as he called them against his own nation.
He became a great reformer.
He became a reformer. I wouldn't go there as far as to say great reformer, but he certainly was a reformer. He wanted to do something better. That also relates to Putin a bit, because Putin is a KGB man.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What does Nina Khrushcheva’s background reveal about her perspective on Putin’s Russia?
0:00–10:05
2
How does the State Duma election illustrate the Kremlin’s control over the voting process?
10:05–16:13
3
What are the implications of a potential Russian mobilization after the election?
16:13–22:35
4
How is Russia’s war‑economy faring and where might it reach a breaking point?
22:35–28:14
5
Why is Putin’s escalating threat to NATO a central concern for the West?
28:14–32:29
6
What does the latest casualty data suggest about the sustainability of Russia’s war effort?
32:29–37:34
7
How are Western governments responding to Russia’s hybrid‑war tactics and pressure on Europe?
37:34–40:29
8
When might Putin’s rule end – is it tied to his health, the elite’s patience, or the war’s outcome?
40:29–40:49