This month, several senior officials in Russia's republic of Chechnya have been reshuffled or replaced. Meanwhile, strongman ruler Ramzan Kadyrov's children have been appointed to a number of government posts. Overshadowing all this are reports that Kadyrov, 47, is gravely ill, fueling rumors about his ability to rule and the future of the republic, which fought two separatist wars against Moscow in the 1990s and 2000s.

Harold Chambers, an analyst focusing on nationalism, conflict and security in the North Caucasus, joins us to explain what it all means.

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This week in Russia, a man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after he pleaded guilty to trying to persuade his friend to surrender to the Ukrainian army. Cases like this are on the rise, with over 5,500 desertion cases prosecuted in Russia in 2023 alone.

Idite Lesom (Get Lost), an NGO founded in Georgia after Russia declared its "partial" mobilization in fall 2022, helps Russians escape from mobilization or from the front lines. In almost two years, Get Lost has helped over 500 conscientious objectors evade service.

Its founder, Grigory Sverdlin, formerly director of the Nochlezhka homeless aid charity, spoke to The Moscow Times about the organization's work.

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As Russia opens a new front in its invasion of Ukraine, the country has a new defense minister. Sergei Shoigu has been replaced with the economist Andrei Belousov. Who is he, and what does his appointment mean for Russia’s war machine?

This week we talked with Ruben Enikolopov, a political economist and professor at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, about what to expect from Belousov’s new role.

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