The Wisdom Tradition | a philosophy podcast · Alexander Sachon

RILEY WAGGAMAN on Russia's Complicity in the Great Reset | Interview with Russia-based Journalist

January 10, 2024·1 hr·4 clips

Riley says Moscow's face-pay subway system lets riders pay "with your face."

1. The Wisdom Tradition interviews Riley Wagaman on Russia's complicity in the "Great Reset" agenda and what he sees from Moscow. 2. Alex Sackin hosts; Riley Wagaman is a Russia-based journalist and the writer behind Edward Slavsquat, a sub-stack focused on Russian policy and technocracy. 3. The episode asks why Russia can be treated as a geopolitical rival while still moving in the same technocratic direction as the West. 4. Riley says he came to Russia in early 2013, first taught English in Bashkortostan, and later moved to Moscow to write after Ukraine "got really hot." 5. He describes being disillusioned with Washington, D.C. political journalism and calling U.S. politics a "two-party uniparty." 6. Alex and Riley revisit the 2014 Maidan upheaval, Yanukovych, and the argument that Ukraine was pulled away from a more pro-Russia path. 7. Riley says the 2022 war was expected to produce a Crimea-like quick operation, but that none of the stated objectives have been achieved. 8. He says the conflict has not collapsed daily life in Moscow, but the partial mobilization in autumn 2022 changed the mood, especially outside big cities. 9. Riley describes the "Z" symbol fading from Moscow and links that disappearance to the Russian government's calculation ahead of the presidential election. 10. He says inflation, spare-parts shortages, contract recruiting, and PMC use have become part of the war economy. 11. Riley describes Wagner and other PMCs as tools used when governments want to act abroad without open acknowledgment. 12. He says the Wagner March of Justice toward Moscow was "very, very scary" and showed how much Russians value stability. 13. The discussion shifts to how Western audiences often rely on RT as a counterweight and then swing too far toward believing everything from the Kremlin. 14. Riley argues that Russian-language media offers more nuance, and he points to Military Review for criticism of corruption, tactics, and strategic failures. 15. He says Russian media contains a more varied and more critical debate than many Western listeners expect, including criticism of Putin-aligned institutions. 16. Riley also talks about how Russians casually entertain theories about Putin clones, the Rothschilds, and royal control without the same partisan hostility seen in U.S. debate. 17. The strongest turn comes when Riley says Moscow is ahead of Western states in technocracy through face pay, biometric IDs, smart-school systems, and facial-recognition policing. 18. He warns that people dismissing digital IDs or biometric control as impossible are ignoring how passports, surveillance, and identity systems become normalized over time. 19. The interview suits listeners who want Russia-specific reporting on war, media, PMCs, and digital control. 20. It is less useful for listeners looking for a short, purely U.S.-centric political discussion.

As heard by us

A wide-angled look at Russia, media trust, and the technocratic frame.

Alex Sackin and Riley Wagaman frame Russia inside the same technocratic, "great reset" logic they see shaping the West, moving from coronavirus and vaccine mandates to digital currency.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a Russia interview that treats media trust as the real battleground.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Wisdom Tradition | a philosophy podcast