The Big Steal
Fresh Air Production
The Big Steal tells the story of Vladimir Putin and his violent assault on human dignity, rule of law, democracy and truth – in Russia, its neighbours and across the West.
A former KGB officer, Putin climbed his way to the presidency of the world’s largest nation, and put in place a mafia state that steals from its own people to cause havoc abroad. When he stole the country’s most successful energy company, Yukos, he gave a clear warning of what was to come. Since then, Western enablers in politics, business and the law have helped Putin on his way.
Gavin Esler speaks to the people who have challenged Putin, tried to understand him, or simply hoped to survive. He takes us through to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a new and dangerous world that is opening up, and asks the question: where do we go next?
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Top 10 The Big Steal Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Big Steal episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Big Steal for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Big Steal episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Russia On the Brink?
The Big Steal
12/14/21 • 51 min
With tensions continuing to grow between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and NATO, is President Putin’s endgame finally coming into view? A massive military build-up on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine suggests an invasion is likely, but what would the ramifications for the surrounding region, and the wider international community be? If Russia invades Ukraine is a war that spills out of the region inevitable? And meanwhile, we explain how the dirty money flowing from into the London from Russia impacts the UK economy and the cash in your own pocket.
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What comes after Putin?
The Big Steal
04/17/20 • 37 min
What comes next? There are clear indications that Putin was behind meddling in the US election of 2016, and convincing arguments to suggest that he tested his tactics on the UK’s Brexit referendum earlier that same year. The Putin regime aims to sow chaos around the world, making the West look just as much a basket case as Russia.
But after 20 years, could Putin’s grasp on power be coming to an end? Or will he find a way to hang on to power?
In this episode we ask what could follow once Putin leaves office. Will we be faced with a more violent leader, or will the people rise and take power? The next election is due in 2024, but there is a strong chance Putin could stay in government, but he cannot go on forever, and so what can be done to ensure Russia changes to benefit it’s population in the coming decades?
This episode features Mark Galeotti, Garry Kasparov, Tim Snyder, Arend Jan Boekestijn, Anne Applebaum and Vladimir Kara Murza.
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Russia's War Against Truth
The Big Steal
04/07/20 • 48 min
A world of misinformation, disinformation, falsehoods, propaganda - the normalisation of lies. This episode focuses on the weapons used by the Putin regime to create chaos around the world. Charges raised against Russia include meddling in elections, cyberwarfare, international aggression, carrying out murders on foreign soil, and bombarding us with fake news.
So what can be done about it? Maybe the only real solution is to wait for the Russian nation to rise against the leadership, whilst also ensuring that government is held to account in the courts and institutions responsible for justice around the world. And hope that it’s not too late.
Appearing in this episode are Ben Emmerson QC. Dennis Krivosheev from Amnesty International, Dutch broadcaster and former MP Arend Jan Boekestijn and Hubert Smeets from Raam op Rusland.
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From Communism to Kleptocracy
The Big Steal
03/03/20 • 20 min
The Cold War is over and 70 years of Communist rule is flushed away. In Soviet Russia, capitalists risked being shot, but with Communism gone, Mikhail Khodorkovsky started a small bank, Menatep, before rising to run one of the world’s most profitable energy businesses: Yukos.
But the success of Khodorkovsky does not go unnoticed by Putin. Whilst Yukos is the biggest tax payer in the New Russia, Vladimir Putin has his eye on the greater prize. He wants the oil company’s profits for himself. And it is not long before he makes his move.
Epsiode Two features first-hand accounts from Mikhail Khodorkovsky, along with Anders Aslund.
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A New Breed Of Autocracy
The Big Steal
11/24/21 • 33 min
The Kremlin’s lies can be seen almost everywhere across the globe and show no signs of abating.
In fact world leaders are even adopting Putin’s tactics as a new breed of autocracy is on the horizon.
So what can be done to stop the erosion of democracy and ensure that voting remains the great equaliser in polarized societies around the world?
Gavin Esler explores the worldwide rise of an “authoritarian mindset”: angry and highly divisive politics stretching from Trump’s America to Brexit Britain, Orban’s Hungary, and to Poland, Brazil, the Philippines, India and elsewhere. All seemingly following the lead of Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
And he asks ‘How does America under the Presidency of Joe Biden, begin to stand up to a Russia actively flexing its foreign aggression muscles?’
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The Big Steal – Epilogue
The Big Steal
04/28/20 • 37 min
Gavin Esler talks to experts on Russia and its complicated political and economic landscape, to attempt to pull all the threads together and answer some of the questions that run through "the Big Steal".
Gavin asks Vladimir Kara Murza how long Putin’s grip on power could last now he has effectively fixed things so he could be in power for as long as he lives. Can anything or anyone stop him? He asks Anne Applebaum if Russia will meddle in the US presidential election again this year? And what are the chances that Putin and his Kremlin cronies will ever be held to account?
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While You Were Shielding
The Big Steal
10/18/21 • 44 min
The Big Steal returns with a new series exploring Russia's continuing journey towards an autocratic kleptocracy.
Whilst the world has been gripped by a global pandemic, President Putin has maintained his grip on power at home by clamping down on anyone who disagrees with him.
The leader of his main opposition, Alexei Navalny, has been poisoned and remains in prison. This is what becomes of someone who attempts stands up to the Kremlin in 2021.
And with a leader who's main concern is to line his own pockets, in this series we ask what's next for those 140 million Russians who are living under Putin's power.
Hosted by Gavin Esler, featuring Mark Galeotti, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Kara Murza, Evgeny Feldman, Oliver Carroll & Anne Applebaum
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Protests and Police Raids
The Big Steal
11/02/21 • 47 min
In this episode Gavin Esler explores the theft of democracy itself in Russia. President Putin holds elections regularly, but for what reason, considering that his ruling party always wins?
In recent years, youngsters have taken to the streets to demonstrate their disapproval of their lack of rights. Most famously, Olga Misik was arrested by Russian riot police for reading the section of the Russian constitution that states she is allowed to take part in peaceful protest. Gavin Esler discovers what the current feeling is amongst Russians living under an authoritarian regime where speaking out against Putin can lead to a police raid on your home.
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The Man Who Challenged Putin
The Big Steal
03/10/20 • 22 min
By 2003 Yukos was a success story, but Putin’s premiership was not going so well. He’d failed to deal competently with the Kursk submarine disaster, and then the Moscow Theatre siege ended in a bloodbath.
Putin decides that he needs to stamp his authority and does so buy summoning the most powerful businessmen – the oligarchs – to a meeting and tells them he’ll stay out of their business if they stay out of politics. At the same time Mikhail Khodorkovsky is looking to expand Yukos further, but feels that he’s held back by the corruption in the Russian economy.
In a televised meeting Khodorkovsky confronts Putin and informs him that, according to a survey, 80% of of the population in Russia think the majority of Russian officials are corrupt; and 25% of the Russian population think that all the Russian officials are corrupt including Putin himself.
After the confrontation it didn’t look good for Khodorkovsky. He feared he’d be targeted by Putin and his fears were not unfounded. On October 25th 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s richest man, was arrested at gun point on his private jet.
Swedish economist Anders Aslund and Mikhail Khodorkosky recount the story, along with Professor Tim Snyder and Anne Applebaum.
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Russia Invades Ukraine
The Big Steal
03/02/22 • 38 min
In the early hours of 24 February 2022, Russia launched a brutal invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. True to his yearslong strategy of lies and disinformation, Vladimir Putin said he had launched a “special miliary operation” to “denazify Ukraine”. “It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory,” said Putin.
Ukraine is now under siege, bombarded from all sides. Cruise missiles and cluster bombs have targeted civilians – and a Holocaust Memorial. In this first episode of a new season and a new world, we hear from Ukrainians on the ground in Kyiv as they prepare to fight for their survival, their families and their nation. And we hear from people in Russia. It seems that few beyond Putin have any appetite for war, least of all nuclear conflict. Kira Rudik leads a Ukrainian political party: she tells us why she’s taken up arms. Back in Westminster, Chris Bryant MP explains how this invasion was always on the cards, and what on earth is happening inside Vladimir Putin’s head.
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Big Steal have?
The Big Steal currently has 15 episodes available.
What topics does The Big Steal cover?
The podcast is about News, True Crime, Podcasts and Politics.
What is the most popular episode on The Big Steal?
The episode title 'The Big Steal – Epilogue' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Big Steal?
The average episode length on The Big Steal is 33 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Big Steal released?
Episodes of The Big Steal are typically released every 11 days.
When was the first episode of The Big Steal?
The first episode of The Big Steal was released on Mar 3, 2020.
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