EXCLUSIVE | Interview with Maxim Shugalei | The human face of Russian soft power

On episode 29 of the show we are joined by Maxim Shugalei, a Russian politician, sociologist, political consultant, lawyer, and public figure. In 2019, while on a business trip in Libya, he was arrested on suspicion of interfering in the election campaign of the local parliament and was imprisoned in Tripoli.

He spent 1.5 years in prison before Russian diplomats managed to secure his release. After returning to his homeland, Maxim continues to travel to hot spots to conduct sociological research, he is currently the head of the “Fund for the Protection of National Values”. Several films were made based on his life story.