How Europe’s Far Right Is Emerging From The Shadows (S01E182)

Friday, October 30, 2026, Paris

For years, journalist Leonid Ragozin has tracked the far right across eastern Europe, reporting on fascist and neo-Nazi movements in Russia, Ukraine, and Latvia.

It has cost him everything. As the fringe groups crept into the mainstream, they’ve targeted him for retribution. He’s now something of a triple exile, all but banned from the countries he knows and loves.

In the latest episode of badlands, Leonid joins host Borzou Daragahi for a discussion about the challenges he faced while covering the rise of rightwing extremism in Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.

He discusses his own journey in the post-Soviet world, including his embrace of the Ukrainian Maidan movement, and his growing disillusionment with events in the country. He also describes the rise of neo-Nazi influence in eastern Europe and the connections between fringe groups and like-minded players in the West.

In this episode, Borzou also discusses the extraordinary way Serbian students defeated a rightwing populist.

In interviews with India’s NewsX World he also provides updates on the elections in Israel and the horrible train crash in Spain.

Notes:

* Follow Leonid Ragozin’s Substack

* How students organized on the ground to defeat Aleksander Vucic.

* Mahmoud Abbas hopes new Israeli government will resume peace talks.

* Spanish official describes train crash as “inexplicable.”

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