The Russian Psyche | Konstantin Kisin

John is joined by Konstantin Kisin, himself Russian by descent, for a conversation about the Russian mindset, popular support for President Putin, the Western response to and coverage of the conflict in Ukraine, Western resilience, the role of satire in public discourse, and much more.

Konstantin Kisin is a Russian-British comedian, podcaster, writer and social commentator. He made international headlines in 2018 by refusing to sign a university “behavioural agreement form” which banned jokes about religion, atheism and insisted that all humour must be “respectful and kind”.

Konstantin is a regular contributor to BBC, ITV and TalkRadio. Frequently described as an "objective voice from the centre of the political spectrum", he regularly writes for a wide range of publications, including the Telegraph, Spectator and Quillette. He is also the creator and co-host of the TRIGGERnometry YouTube show where 2 comics interview economists, political experts, journalists and social commentators about interesting, controversial and challenging subjects.

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00:00 Intro
00:53 Introducing Konstantin Kisin
1:59 How should we understand your homeland, Russia?
3:13 What is a 'gulag'?
6:20 The Russian sense of humour & culture
8:08 Why does Putin enjoy such support in Russia?
14:07 Why hasn't democracy worked in Russia?
20:30 Mainstream coverage of the Ukraine conflict
27:02 The Achilles heel of autocracies
31:16 The depths of Western foundations
36:50 The Western reaction to Russian aggression
40:40 On slavery & ethnic tensions
45:56 On the response to Covid-19
52:08 The power of comedy and satire
55:48 John Anderson as a target of satire
57:19 The 'age of religion'
1:01:27 Replacing conflict with conversation
1:05:11 Concluding remarks
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Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues.

John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate."

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Konstantin Kisin:

[onlylexus]

I am a man of 68 years of age, I have read an awful lot and taken in knowledge and information all my life, all in an effort to try and make a difference to the world and to try and understand it, I consider myself as having a reasonable amount of wisdom. However, I have to say that the remarkable Konstantin Kisin has arrived at where I am now, but he seems to have got there many years before me and at such a young age too, I find this totally gob smacking! He is so very informed and erudite and intelligent and reasoned. There is not one thing he said in this great interview that I did not find myself agreeing with. Kisin is the very epitome and a prime example of wisdom far beyond his lived years. He is one who could help society in the West to be on guard and to give it aims that we should aspire to improve. I find that I love the man! Bravo!

[karanaman]

Two well versed, articulate individuals who are intelligent and respectful of each other. Bravo

[johandupreez]

What insight and that from someone so young, he's articulate and full of knowledge gained from experiences which are from recent history. I agree with him wholeheartedly and have this quote for him " some things in life are more important than life itself " we need to support you and stand up and be counted.

[jeannettejordan]

Thanks for introducing me to such an interesting guest. We Americans should be listening to more people like him.

[deemorris]

An elegant conversation which was a pleasure to listen to. Intelligent, insightful, robust, courteous. Thank you gentlemen.

[Alipotamus]

The Gulag Archipelago was one of the books that taught me of the profound dangers and patterns of totalitarianism regimes. I am a 74 year old Californian. I have felt like a lone voice for most of my life. I don’t understand why so few seem to care about what is going on in this world. I’m afraid we will not recover. Heartbreaking. I taught my 6 children and I believe they are doing their best to teach their children our values. Freedom is a constant fight or you lose it.

[HermanLabuschagne]

What a breath of fresh air. This should be used as a model to educate the overwhelming majority of completely mediocre interviewers on how it is done. My compliments to a superb interviewer for his well-articulated speech, his intelligent conversation and superior grasp of the topic under discussion. It goes without saying that Konstantin deserves equal praise for his well-presented logic and brilliant conversation skills.

[CorneliaIng]

Brilliant interview, brilliant guest.
It gave me a different view on my own childhood and youth in the GDR under Russian influence, and a new perspective on some of the political struggles we have now here in eastern Germany.

[billcasey]

I have never enjoyed an interview as much as this one. We need this man and his intellect here in the U.S. Well Done!

[zahariachirica]

I am a 64 yo Romanian who lived through the communism regime to the end in '89. Incredible true all that Konstantin said. Absolutely.

[szendrich]

Always enjoy your interesting and very balanced conversations, Mr. Anderson. I enjoyed Konstantin Kisin more in this forum than in his usual one. He hides too much wisdom behind his comedy and I prefer to have it raw. Many thanks to you both.

[etesha]

What a magnificent interview! Thank you to the host and the guest. Intelligent, honest and insightful. Absolutely brilliant! this should go viral....

[zzclvnr]

John Anderson makes me feel proud to be an Australian 🇦🇺. I'm also a big Triggernometry fan - thank you, gentlemen, for such an insightful and important discussion.

[jf]

What an enormously critical interview John. Your relaxed but very carefully thoughtful questioning, style and commentary combine with Konstantin’s honest and deep understanding of the East and the West which make this an extraordinary interview of the time. Many thanks.

[oliveoil]

My grandparents got out of Hungary during the Great Depression and emigrated to Canada for a better life. Many loved ones were left behind who suffered first under Nazi occupation and then decades of Soviet tyranny and occupation. Konstantin speaks the truth.

[luckyluk]

wow! just wow! I've never heard of Konstantin before, but it has been absolutely refreshing and a pleasure to listen to his thoughts, maybe because they have also been my own, on every topic discussed here. But safe to say i've been feeling alone in this for years. Thank you John, and thank you Konstantin, for bringing the important questions and perspectives to the forefront!

[roselandthaller]

An important interview that brings enormously useful context to an otherwise poorly reported and badly understood part of the world. Big thanks to Konstantin Kisin and John Anderson for this.

[HansMartinHammer]

This is one of the finest conversations between two respectful individuals I've ever heard.

[davidthomas]

Great program. Kisin has a unique background to be able to explain Russia and it’s war with Ukraine. Anderson brought it together well too.

[Thorspitfire]

Konstantin is Great. I am Polish and our history was always combined with Russia- mostly in negative way. Poles see Russia and Ukraine exactly in the way Konstantin is describing. Let me add that it is brilliant that he is seeing also negative parts of wokeness, extreme feminism, etc. as a real danger.