"Putin on the Fritz" w/Judy Twigg, Ph.D, Professor of Russian Politics

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine going into its third week, it's important to remember that Ukraine has been fighting Russia for over 8 years. We cover this and a whole host of other topics in this week's episode.

Our guest this week, Judy Twigg is a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on global health, international political economy, and Russian politics. Judy helps us better understand the rich history that exists between these two countries and how, through sanctions, the Russian people will be affected. We then talk about an agreement that hasn't been getting much attention these days, the Budapest Memorandum, which is an agreement that Ukraine made with the US and Russia to get rid of their nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances on their security. This wide ranging discussion covers elements of Russia-Ukraine that you likely have not heard before and you'll want to listen to the very end!

If you want to help and get involved please consider checking out these resources suggested by our guest:

International Rescue Committee ()

UNICEF Ukraine ()

Ukrainian Ministry of Defense () Use your browser's translate function

Come Back Alive foundation, providing auxiliary support for the Ukrainian armed forces ()

Guest Bio:

Judy Twigg is a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she teaches courses on global health, international political economy, and Russian politics. She is also a senior associate with the Global Health Policy Center and Russia & Eurasia Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies; consultant for the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank and the Office of Evaluation and Oversight of the Inter-American Development Bank; adjunct professor at the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University; and member of the board of trustees of the Eurasia Foundation. She has been a consultant for the Kennan Institute, John Snow, Inc., UNICEF, the Social Science Research Council, and various U.S. government agencies.

Twigg's work focuses on issues of health, demographic change, and health systems reform in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. She also conducts program and project evaluations for development assistance efforts world-wide spanning human development and public sector management. She has testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Congress and has been a member of several congressional and other U.S. government advisory groups on Russian affairs. She received the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia's Distinguished Faculty Award in 2005. Dr. Twigg is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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