Next Year in Moscow

A podcast about Russia’s future

When the shelling of Ukraine began a year ago, free-thinking Russians faced a fateful choice: lie low, resist or flee. Hundreds of thousands decided to leave. Because for them the war meant Russia itself had lost its meaning and its future.

Now they have to rebuild their lives and their hopes for Russia from exile.

Can they get their country back? In this eight-part series, The Economist’s Arkady Ostrovsky travels across Europe and the Middle East to find out. The answer may hold the key to ending the war.

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Latest episodes

Next Year in Moscow

8. Arrivals

In the final episode, opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s decision to return to Russia offers hope for the rebirth of a nation

44:58

Next Year in Moscow

7. The runway

In episode 7 of our podcast, a lawyer explains why she continues to defend Russia’s top opposition figures in the face of impossible odds

39:04

Next Year in Moscow

6. Remote work

In episode 6 of our podcast, we ask how effectively emigré media can project the truth back into Russia

42:51

Next Year in Moscow

5. Through the forest

In episode 5, we find out how Russians are resisting the regime, as Tolstoy prescribed, through acts of empathy and kindness, such as helping the homeless

40:27

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First episodes

Next Year in Moscow

4. Hostages

In episode 4 of our podcast, Arkady Ostrovsky talks to the actor Chulpan Khamatova whose work has brought her up close with Russia’s leaders