This episode is brought to you by Slack. With Slack, you can bring all your people and

tools together in one place. It's your digital HQ where you can increase productivity,

enable flexibility and automate workflows. Plus, Slack is full of game-changing features

like huddles for quick check-ins or Slack Connect, which helps you connect with partners

inside and outside of your company. Slack, where the future works. Get started at

Slack.com slash THQ. This is the Friends of History, Debating Society. I'm John Bachelor.

It is wonderful to welcome Professor H.J. Mackinder, International Relations, to comment

not only on five capitals involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but the new sixth capital,

Tokyo. We begin in Moscow, however. Professor are very good evening to you. The news from

Moscow these last days is that Vladimir Putin and the political leadership have decided

to change General Sikhab. This time from Sarovikin, General Armageddon, an Air Force officer,

to replace him as overall commander of Ukraine with Karasinov, the chief of staff of the Russian

command structure. In other words, he was already in charge from Moscow. Now he's in charge

in Ukraine. There are many observations. However, the chief one is that this begins to resemble

the political manipulation that was true during the Tsar's time, which is a useful analogy

because we've talked about Donbas being a version of Verdun, trench warfare, artillery

exchanges, and stalemate. Your measure of five capitals now six and the point of view,

Moscow is used to a winning ugly and losing lots and lots of troops and money on the way.

That was the first war, that was the second war, to our understanding. It's the way Moscow

prefers to fight. Your measure of this replacement of Sarovikin who was meant to be frightening

and to pass him off, who, after all, is a manager in Moscow. Good evening to you. Good evening.

Well, the war in Ukraine is having a very, very corrosive effect on Russian society,

...