What Russian mercenaries tell us about Russia

Host Alia Brahimi talks to the Russian defense analyst Dr Pavel Luzin about what the proliferation of Russian mercenaries abroad tells us about Russia at home. They explore the domestic forces that gave rise to the Kremlin’s co-optation of Russian mercenaries, how they are funded by the Russian federal budget, and the effects mercenaries are already having on Russian society. “Hundreds of thousands of veterans will come back sooner or later to Russia, and it will be a political economy and social disaster. It will be [a] high level of violence.”The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi.