17: The Russian Menace with Bill Browder

Jen Rubin's Green Room

Politics, News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.8 • 578 Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2023

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jen is joined by finance expert and human rights campaigner Bill Browder for an inside look at the corruption and oppression in Putin’s Russia that directly targeted Bill’s company and friends. In their conversation they cover Putin’s massive theft from businesses operating there, how he uses torture and violence against his political enemies, and why defeating him in Ukraine is essential to protecting freedom and democracy around the world. They also discuss how the bi-partisan Magnitsky Act is one of the most effective weapons in the war because of its power to freeze accounts and directly target the oligarchs behind the invasion. Now that it is being passed in dozens of other countries, are we gaining the upper hand?

This Week’s Guest:

Bill Browder:
Twitter | Website | Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign | Author of “Freezing Order”

Get More From Jennifer Rubin:
Twitter | WaPo | Author of “Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy From Donald Trump”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Jen Rubin, and this is Jen Rubin's Green Room.
0:14.8	This week's guest, Bill Browder, is a fascinating story of wealth, of power, of murder, of redemption.
0:24.1	He was the client who, Sergei Magnitsky, aimed to help when the Soviet Union was collapsing.
0:32.6	And the new regime, and Putin in particular, were grabbing up by handfuls the wealth that had
0:41.5	really previously been held by the Russian people, or at least the communist regime.
0:46.9	He was chased from the country and the monies and the certificates of the stock that he had
0:52.8	accumulated were grabbed by the government.
0:56.4	Sergei McNitsky thought this was wrong and aimed to help Bill. He, however, was himself
1:03.6	imprisoned. He was tortured and he died. Bill was not willing to let the story of Sergei McNusky die with him.
1:14.5	And he set on our course to really change the way human rights are perceived and how human rights are enforced.
1:22.5	And I think you'll agree it's a fascinating story.
1:27.2	So here to join us is Bill Browder. Bill, welcome to the show.
1:31.7	Great to be here. Thank you so much. It's very hard to impress my children. And although we've had many interesting and well-known guests, you were the first one who really got a wow, mom, that's very cool kind of reaction.
1:47.4	So you are a rock star among the 20-something set, I will tell you.
1:52.0	The fact that your children read is a great tribute to you.
1:54.7	Yes, there you go.
1:56.1	Yeah, well, you know, we try.
1:58.0	We try.
1:59.6	Bill, take us back to where this began as the Soviet Union was crumbling as these huge entities
2:11.6	that had been owned by the Soviet state were no longer going to be owned by the people of Russia um, were no longer going to be,
2:18.8	um,
2:19.3	owned by the people of Russia, as it were.
	...

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