Hello, everyone and welcome.

My name is Glenn Dyson, and I'm joined today by Alexander McCurice and Professor Sergei Karagano,

who is an honorary chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy in the Russian Federation,

and he has also been a former advisor of both President Yeltsin and President Putin.

Sorry, President Putin.

Welcome to the both of you.

Well, I've never, yes, I'm happy to see you.

Though I've been advising even writing speeches for Breznor

or parts of speeches, of course, very small.

But I've never been in any formal position ever.

With any of the leaders, I am completely quite independent. Of course I was a member of the

Preservation Council, but it was not exactly a position of an advisor.

It was the highest council in Bodia during Yeltsin,

but I resigned in protest in 88 when I saw that Yeltsin regime is getting absolutely wrong. But anyway, but I'm helping the leaders of my country because I'm a responsible citizen. So the topic we really wanted to discuss with you today is, of course,

Russia changing its nuclear doctrine by lowering

the nuclear threshold. So, yeah, in other words, expanding the possible scenarios in which

it's illegal under Russian law to use nuclear weapons. And I guess you're the ideal person

to explain why Russia has taken this dramatic step, given that you are also the person who has

perhaps been pushing the hardest for a change in the nuclear doctrine.

I read, I think, most of the articles and interviews you have done on this topic.

And I remember one year ago when we were at this Evaldae meeting in Sochi, Putin addressed

to you personally and argued at that point that Russia

...