How Putin’s war ended the Russian business boom

After the fall of the Soviet Union, a new Russia emerged – one that was open for business. Over the next 30 years, huge international companies took advantage of this new global Russia and found immense success. But Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Charles Hecker has been a journalist and geopolitical risk consultant involved with Russia for around 40 years. In his new book – Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia, he highlights the choice international businesses had to make, stay in Russia and face huge reputational backlash or leave and risk financial loss. He Joins Chris Jones in The Bunker. Buy Zero Sum: The Arc of International Business in Russia through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.     • Get tickets for Levitation, the annual festival of electronic music and ideas presented by friends of the pod Castles In Space, at Bedford Esquires on Sat 5 Oct. And here’s a taster playlist of who’s on. www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Chris Jones. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio production: Tom Taylor. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices