Russia Unfiltered

Since 2022 a new wave of Westerners has headed to Russia, drawn by talk of tradition, order and conservatism. James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle compare this cohort with earlier movers, ask what they are seeking versus what they find, and dig into language barriers, bureaucracy, soft power, the YouTuber economy, and how Russians actually view these arrivals. They also set this against the wider picture of Central Asian migration and everyday life in Moscow and beyond.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.

Is it okay to like Russia in 2025? James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle unpack why Russian art and literature still matter in the West, how academic debates over decolonising Russian studies spill into public life, and where personal taste ends and institutional endorsement begins. They also weigh Ukraine’s cultural pushback, whether boycotts work, and what everyday life in Russia actually looks like, from multicultural reality to Moscow’s day-to-day convenience.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.