Ukraine and the Latvian Podfather (An Impossible Interview VI): Kristaps Andrejsons of The Eastern Border

Summary: <p>Note: Supporters of History Impossible over on Patreon currently have access to the uncut version of this interview, complete with more banter and fun discussion regarding how weird America is. Head over to <a href="http://www.patreon.com/historyimpossible">www.patreon.com/historyimpossible</a> and consider becoming a patron today so you can hear the uncut versions of conversations had on this show plus much more!</p> <p>In this edition of the Impossible Interviews series, we're joined by the one and only Kristaps Andrejsons of the famous Eastern Border Podcast to talk about both his time as not just a history podcaster on the Eastern Border of Europe, but as the podcaster in general of the Baltic states (hence the nickname the "Podfather of Latvia") and how he got there (and what it's cost), as well as all things Ukraine.</p> <p>During the first half of 2022, Kristaps has been covering the Russo-Ukrainian War both from home in Latvia and on the front lines themselves, having spent several weeks traveling all over eastern Europe to reach Odessa and then finally Kyiv where he was given a first-hand glimpse into the chaos that has been unleashed there. Much of this has been covered in his daily dispatches on the Eastern Border podcast feed, as well as in a number of articles for various outlets, including Foreign Policy Magazine.</p> <p>(Check out Kristaps' writing here: <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/author/kristaps-andrejsons/">https://foreignpolicy.com/author/kristaps-andrejsons/</a>)</p> <p>He's also had in-depth and thought provoking conversations with the likes of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-in-ukraine-martyrmade/id1070996136?i=1000558413049">MartyrMade's Darryl Cooper</a> and <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-in-ukraine-the-blitz-edition/id1070996136?i=1000557736828">Hardcore History's Dan Carlin</a>. In the case of our conversation, we went in a few different directions. We spend some time dissecting a lot of the arguments surrounding the ongoing conflict, we discuss Vladimir Putin in relative detail, and we take some time to discuss a shared interest of ours--the infamous philosopher who's been called "Putin's Brain" (and even called a modern Rasputin) Aleksandr Dugin and his Traditionalism-fueled multi-polar philosophy. </p> <p>Hopefully, this episode will be as informative for all of you as it was for me (and even fun, despite some depressing revelations about how this war is likely going to shake out). So with that I say, in Kristaps' words, dasvidaniya tovarich! And remember: happiness is mandatory.</p> <p>History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon and PayPal:</p> <ul> <li>Elias Borota</li> <li>Charles C</li> <li>Matthew Dakus</li> <li>Nathan Diehl</li> <li>Gavin Edwards</li> <li>Kevin Gony</li> <li>Nathan Grote</li> <li>Al Hall</li> <li>Peter Hauck</li> <li>Mike Kalnins</li> <li>Benjamin Lee</li> <li>Trevor Lindborg</li> <li>Mounty of Madness</li> <li>Jose Martinez</li> <li>Mike Mayleben</li> <li>Judy McCoid</li> <li>Monica</li> <li>Kostas Moros</li> <li>Ryan Mortenson</li> <li>Ben Mullen</li> <li>Molly Pan</li> <li>Jean Peters</li> <li>Brian Pritzl</li> <li>PJ Rader</li> <li>Gleb Radutsky</li> <li>Aleksandr Rakitin</li> <li>Eugene Rosso</li> <li>Aria Saeidi</li> <li>Jon Andre Saether</li> <li>Alison Salo</li> <li>Emily Schmidt</li> <li>Julian Schmidt</li> <li>Cameron Smith</li> <li>Brian Steggeman</li> <li>Pier-Luc St-Pierre</li> <li>Jared Cole Temple</li> <li>Steve Uhler</li> <li>Ricky Worthey</li> <li>F. You</li> </ul>