Russia, religion and the Middle East
Cultural discussion programme. Andrew Marr talks about Putin's aims at home and abroad with Masha Gessen, Dominic Rubin, Liwaa Yazji and Roy Allison.
Totalitarianism has reclaimed Russia. So journalist Masha Gessen tells Andrew Marr. Her book 'The Future is History' follows four figures born as the Soviet Union crumbled and whose new-found freedom is being slowly eradicated. The Soviet Union banned religion but ranked citizens by "nationality" - with Jews near the bottom and ethnic Russians at the top. Dominic Rubin explores the country's relationship with religion in 'Russia's Muslim Heartlands', while Oxford professor Roy Allison unpicks Russian involvement in the Arab world. Putin is influential as far away as Libya and Egypt, and is a key ally to the Assad regime in Syria. And just as Putin has mastered the art of propaganda at home, Moscow-born Liwaa Yazji looks at the role of propaganda in the Syrian civil war through her new play 'Goats'.
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Masha Gessen
The Future is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia is published by Penguin Random House
Dominic Rubin
Russia’s Muslim Heartlands: Islam in the Putin Era will be published by Hurst in February 2018.
Roy Allison
Liwaa Yazji
Goats by Liwaa Yazji, (translated by Katharine Halls) runs in the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs until 30th December 2017. Β
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Andrew Marr |
Interviewed Guest | Masha Gessen |
Interviewed Guest | Dominic Rubin |
Interviewed Guest | Liwaa Yazji |
Interviewed Guest | Roy Allison |
Broadcasts
- Mon 4 Dec 2017 09:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 FM
- Mon 4 Dec 2017 21:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Podcast
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