Episode list

The inside story of how Vladimir Putin, a consummate political operator with a background in the KGB, become a valued ally of the West. After eight years as President of Russia and four more as Prime Minister, Putin is stubbornly holding onto power. He has announced his intention to return as President, and declared his United Russia party the winner in parliamentary elections that have widely been seen as fraudulent, leading to mass protests in Moscow and elsewhere. Featuring contributions from Putin's top colleagues and the Western statesmen who have clashed with him, this insightful documentary asks when his policies began to provoke deep concern in Washington and London. It looks back at how, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Putin quickly aligned Russia with the West, surprising many in the Kremlin. The world had changed - but at home Putin was becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Internal politics in other former Soviet republics often were significantly influenced by intervention from Putin's Russia. In Georgia, legally elected president Shevarnadze was confronted to Shakashvili's parliamentary opposition, which ousted him with Russian support, only to side later with minority opposition inside Russia and joining NATO, like the Baltic republics. Large neighbor Ukrain with millions of ethnic Russians was the object of a major, bitter row with the west, Putin playing dirty and falsely blaming the British 'manipulators', a game which turned worst concerning Russia's own state-manipulated elections.

The inside story of how Vladimir Putin, a consummate political operator with a background in the KGB, become a valued ally of the West. After eight years as President of Russia and four more as Prime Minister, Putin is stubbornly holding onto power. He has announced his intention to return as President, and declared his United Russia party the winner in parliamentary elections that have widely been seen as fraudulent, leading to mass protests in Moscow and elsewhere. Featuring contributions from Putin's top colleagues and the Western statesmen who have clashed with him, this insightful documentary asks when his policies began to provoke deep concern in Washington and London. It looks back at how, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Putin quickly aligned Russia with the West, surprising many in the Kremlin. The world had changed - but at home Putin was becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Putin, first as Russian president and later as prime minister but power behind the throne of Medvedev, is unshakably determined to rebuild Russia's status as super-power rivaling even Bush's US. After the West's support for Kosovo's breakaway from Russian ally Serbia, the secessionist rebellions of Abchasia and South Ossetia against Saakashivili's Georgia are are a test of strength and determination, where the US refuses to commit against Russia, leaving mediation to French president Sarkozy. Meanwhile former Warshaw Pact states' US-pushed NATO applications are contested by EU states, mainly Germany.