This interview was originally published on February 23, 2023. Boris Kagarlitsky talks about the mood of the Russian people and the possibility that the Russian military leadership might insist on ending the war.

Boris Kagarlitsky talks about the mood of the Russian people and the possibility that the Russian military leadership might insist on ending the war.

Russia faces the catastrophic consequences of climate change and an economy dependent on fossil fuel exports. Boris Kagarlitsky joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.

Kagarlitsky responds to criticism he underestimates NATO provocations. He also analyzes the changing politics of Ukraine and growing anti-war feelings in Russia.

NATO expansion and the defense of Donbas are not the primary motivations for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says Kagarlitsky. Stoking nationalism to shore up support for Putin’s government is. Two corrupt oligarchies fight a war that only fossil fuel firms and Western arms manufacturers can win.

Jacobin Radio features the recent UCLA colloquium, “The Political Economy of Russia’s War in Ukraine,” organized and moderated by the Center for Social Theory and Comparative History’s Robert Brenner. The panelists are Boris Kagarlitsky, Ilya Budraitskis, Ilya Matveev, and Suzi Weissman, followed by a lively Q and A.