Since 2022, prices in Russia have risen, familiar brands have vanished and everyday life has quietly become more expensive and more fragile. In this episode of Russia Unfiltered, Jonny Tickle, James C Pearce and Jeremy Morris talk through the real cost of living behind the official statistics: supermarket bills that have doubled, fast food and business lunches that no longer feel cheap, and imported goods, car parts, medicines and electronics that now arrive through parallel routes at higher prices and lower quality. They look at how tax changes, new fees on cars and appliances and quietly rising utility costs are reshaping budgets, how people in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and provincial towns are downsizing their lifestyles or sliding into wage arrears, and why visible wealth in big cities hides deep inequality. Finally, they discuss the emotional side of all this, from patience and “hunkering down” to a generation that has put its dreams, travel plans and even starting families on hold because they no longer believe their money, or the situation, will improve any time soon.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.
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54:02
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54:02
Is Russia Really a Multicultural Miracle?
James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle discuss what “multicultural” actually means in Russia, testing the idea of the country as a multicultural miracle. They look at Slavic Orthodox symbols, Soviet nostalgia and regional folk branding alongside local identities in places like Dagestan, Tatarstan and Yakutia that do not simply see themselves as branches of a single Russian civilisation. The trio distinguish between state-curated diversity and real cultural autonomy, and between the official culture of Victory Day aesthetics, folk dancers and new “peoples of Russia” holidays and the culture people actually live through K-pop, anime, YouTube, rap, Turkish and Korean serials. Along the way they explore pride and inferiority, Europe versus “Asia,” and ask whether the true unifying force in today’s Russia is not tradition at all but the internet.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.
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56:14
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56:14
What Is "Real Russia"?
James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle discuss where “real Russia” actually begins and ends, from Moscow’s outer districts to small towns and industrial suburbs. They explore how most Russians live in microdistricts and new housing complexes, balancing comfort and sameness amid quiet courtyards, chain stores and long commutes. The conversation touches on post-Soviet planning, car culture, social isolation and the quiet stability many residents prize over change. What emerges is a portrait of everyday Russia that is ordinary, modern and found more in the suburbs than on Red Square.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.
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54:24
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54:24
How Russia’s State Controls Everyday Life
James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle trace how the Russian state reaches from hospitals to housing, schools to smartphones. They break down its four layers – bureaucracy, surveillance, economic direction and moral oversight – and ask where public service ends and supervision begins. The discussion moves from Gosuslugi and CCTV to patriotic education, corporate loyalty and cultural bans, exploring how order and convenience coexist with limits on independence in daily life.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.
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57:29
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57:29
Why Russia Experts Get Russia Wrong
James C. Pearce, Jeremy Morris and Jonny Tickle examine why lived experience often contradicts desk-based takes, asking what language skills, fieldwork and everyday conversations add that surveys, Telegram feeds and think-tank incentives miss. They probe the outsourcing of “Russia expertise” to diasporas and distant commentators, the class divide between capitals and small towns, and why certainty sells even when nuance is truer. Along the way they discuss textbook myths, journalism-by-proxy, and the awkward fact that there is rarely a penalty for being wrong.This podcast is an independent project and does not represent the views of our employers or affiliated institutions.
Russia Unfiltered is an English-language podcast recorded inside Russia and hosted by three Brits who call the country home. Each episode dives into life on the ground, from everyday culture and history to politics and global headlines, with first-hand insight you can only get from being inside the country.
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