In this episode I am joined by author and journalist Joe Luc Barnes to talk about 'The Death of Stalin' (2017).
Joe is the author of 'Farewell to Russia- A journey through the former USSR' published by Pegasus Books.
We talk about the film, the uses and abuses of political language, what happens after the death of dictators and the fall of empires, authoritarian elections, the birth of the Molotov Cocktail, Khruschev's joke strategy, Stalin's influence on Soviet football, MMA sports-washing and the even the geo-political importance of Chairman Mao's feces.
About Joe:
JOE LUC BARNES has spent a decade living and working as a journalist across China and the former Soviet Union. Joe’s fascination with the region began with his love of Russian literature. Before long, he was living it, working as a governor in a dacha outside Moscow. He later studied a master’s in Russian and East European Politics at Oxford University. As a journalist, Joe has contributed to numerous English language media outlets including The Financial Times; Nikkei; The Diplomat; and The Times of Central Asia. In an age of work-from-home punditry, he prefers the messiness of the road: the haze of smoky bars, chance encounters in a railway dining car. He has visited all fifteen former USSR republics since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. He is currently based between London and Central Asia. joelucbarnes.com X/Instagram/LinkedIn: @joelucbarnes
About 'Farewell to Russia'
This is a witty and incisive political story that asks: what is the legacy of the USSR, and what does it mean in a world where Russia is increasingly dominant? Snow, concrete, the KGB: that’s the cliché of the Soviet Union. But its collapse in 1991 sparked a story at once messier and more compelling than any stereotype. Thirty-five years on, Moscow may brim with champagne bars and blacked-out Mercedes – but what became of the other fourteen states that emerged from the ashes? In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Joe Luc Barnes crossed the former USSR to find out, from the gleaming towers of Azerbaijan to the former gulags of Kazakhstan, tech-hungry Estonia to the minarets of Uzbekistan. Along the way, he finds epic mountains, cobblestoned old towns and storied Silk Road cities – not to mention Georgian wine, Armenian brandy and vodka in industrial supply. Travelling thousands of miles, he gathers a chorus of voices: nomads in mountain yurts, TikTok-fuelled activists, small-town taxi drivers and many who still look uneasily over their shoulder for the secret police. With insight, empathy and a healthy dose of mordant wit, he asks what has happened – and why – to the people and their hopes and dreams since the great promise of independence. By turns hilarious, angry and heart-stopping, this is a darkly comic, deeply human portrait of a region the West still misunderstands – and a warning of what happens when empires break but the habits of empire refuse to die. Covers: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Ukraine – and, of course, Russia. “This book is the product of years on the road, countless conversations, and a determination to look beyond Russia and Soviet stereotypes. While it doesn’t gloss over its traumas – eight of these countries fought wars since 1991 – the book tries to approach the region with a lighter touch, celebrating the generosity, resilience, and absurd humour that I found almost everywhere. In a time of war, it seeks to shine fresh light on Russia’s rocky relationship with its former colonies, while showcasing the human stories springing from one of history’s seismic shifts. But above all, the aim is to make these nations more accessible and tempt the more adventurous reader to visit.” Joe Luc Barnes
Music as usual by the fabulous - The Croutons.
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