The Kremlin is suspected of murdering its enemies, but what happens to Vladimir Putin’s opponents at home? Panorama: Taking on Putin, BBC 2018
A country where challenging power can get you killed. ibid.
Three months into the Ukraine war and evidence of Russian atrocities is mounting. After the Russian withdrawal from the suburbs of Kiev, we hear the stories of the civilians murdered in cold blood. Panorama: Hunting Putin’s War Crimes, BBC 2022
War on the streets of Europe. People living in fear. The Ukrainians are fighting back. There are questions about Vladimir Putin’s state of mind. What he does next could change the fate of millions. Panorama: Putin’s War in Ukraine, BBC 2022
Putin feared Ukraine, Russia’s nearest neighbour, would join Nato and demanded that it never should. ibid.
He [Putin] declared two pro-Russian areas in eastern Ukraine independent states. The west imposed economic sanctions. ibid.
Super-rich Russians like Roman Abramovich have become part of British life. But the war in Ukraine has ended the UK’s love affair with wealthy Russians and their cash. We’ve been investigating how Britain’s most famous Russian made his money. We uncover new details about Roman Abramovich’s murky past. And we reveal how he really made his fortune. Panorama: Roman Abramovich’s Dirty Money, Richard Bilton reporting, BBC 2022
Roman Abramovich has pumped £1.5 billion of his own cash into Chelsea, buying success on the pitch. He was one of the super-rich Russians who were welcomed into the UK. ibid.
1992: Russian detectives are investigating the alleged theft of a trainload of diesel. Roman Abramovich is the main suspect … ‘Abramovich personally met the shipment and using forged documents had it rerouted to Riga where the diesel oil was sold … It would be a multi-billion-dollar rip off and would make his fortune. ibid.
A giant oil company called Sibneft was formed. It was then auctioned off. But the auction was rigged so Roman Abramovich would win. ibid.
Most of the money borrowed by Roman Abramovich to buy the new oil company came from the Russian government. ibid.
War on the streets of Europe. People living in fear. The Ukrainians are fighting back. There are questions about Vladimir Putin’s state of mind. What he does next could change the fate of millions. Panorama: Putin’s War in Ukraine, BBC 2022
Putin feared Ukraine, Russia’s nearest neighbour, would join Nato and demanded that it never should. (Ukraine & Russia & Putin & ibid.
He [Putin] declared two pro-Russian areas in eastern Ukraine independent states. The West imposed economic sanctions. ibid.
This summer an armed mutiny in Russia. Putin faced his greatest challenge yet launched by the head of the Wagner Mercenary Group, Yevgeny Prighozhin. Panorama: Challenging Putin: Moscow and the Mutiny, BBC 2023
‘This is a stab in the back for our country and our people.’ ibid. Putin
Then a plane fell from the sky killing the mutiny’s leaders. ibid.
‘How strongly I am against any state intervention in a sovereign nation’s affairs – what Russia did was wrong … military intervention is never the answer and I will not sit here and apologise and defend military aggression. Furthermore, the coverage I’ve seen of Ukraine has been truly disappointing … My heart goes out to the Ukrainian people.’ Abby Martin, RT television
Anti-Russian hysteria is at a new peak with the political establishment and corporate media jointly accusing Russia of interfering the recent US election. Abby Martin, The Empire Files: Post-Soviet Russia: Made in the USA, Youtube 2017
‘We basically restructured their entire political economy and left it in a complete shambles.’ ibid. Mark Ames
‘There’s fraud in every single Russian election … certainly 3-4-5%.’ ibid.
‘All of these industries were auctioned off in rigged auctions … to a handful of oligarchs.’ ibid.
‘Putin was brought in … he seemed serious … interested in not doing any more experiments on the country.’ ibid.
‘Everything was stolen … This was the atmosphere that Yeltzin was in in 1999.’ ibid.
How did we get to the place where, you know, Putin decides he’s gonna just invade Russia? Joe Biden
Ukraine is a country in Europe. It exists next to another country called Russia. Russia is a bigger country. Russia is a powerful country. Russia decided to invade a smaller country called Ukraine. So basically, that’s wrong. Kamala Harris
For over a decade Vladimir Putin has been the undisputed master of Russia. But after claims he fixed parliamentary elections, tens of thousands of middle-class Russians took to the streets demanding his resignation. Putin, Russia and the West I: Taking Control, BBC 2011
It began in 1999. Russian president Boris Yeltsin was desperate to fill a key post. His eyes fell on his intelligence chief. ibid.
As soon as Yeltsin resigned, Putin became president. ibid.
The oligarchs, Putin thought, had been cut out of politics. ibid.
The Cold War was over but distrust still lingered. ibid.
Putin opened the door to a remarkable period of cooperation with the West. ibid.
The United States since 9/11 backed Putin over Chechnya. ibid.
The Russian government released video of a fake rock which they said was being used by British spies in Russia. Putin, Russia and the West II: Democracy Threatens
US Special forces arrived in Georgia. They helped expel the Chechens. ibid.
[Mikheil] Saakashvili, said he would make Georgia a member of Nato. ibid.
Yushchenko was gravely ill. He was flown to a private clinic in Vienna where he was found to have been poisoned by a huge dose of dioxin. ibid.
Ukraine Supreme Court 3 December 2004: The Supreme Court of Ukraine considers it necessary to remedy the violation of rights by holding a re-run of the Presidential elections. ibid.
Yushchenko won the re-run decisively. ibid.
Washington received Yushchenko like a hero. ibid.
The more Washington supported democracy on Russia’s borders, the more dictatorial Putin became. He changed the election rules. ibid.
Four years earlier George Bush said he’d got a sense of Putin’s soul. Now he wasn’t so sure. ibid.
In private Bush accepted none of this. ibid.
President Bush continued to preach his freedom agenda. ibid.
The atmosphere in Russia turned uglier. Nationalist gangs beat up migrant workers. ibid.
‘If I go back to Russia, I won’t live long. Better to die in England in the fresh air.’ ibid. Litvinenko
[Alexander] Litvenyenko became a British citizen. Ten days later he was poisoned with radioactive polonium. ibid.
In the summer of 2008 Russia was at war with America’s ally Georgia. Putin, Russia & the West III: War
Putin was determined to stop America encroaching on its other borders. ibid.
Georgians and separatists shelled each other. ibid.
Russian forces were already pushing the Georgian forces back in South Ossetia. Their air force now set out to destroy Georgia’s defences and targeted the capital itself. On the second day of the war they flew 120 bombing sorties. ibid.
Russian forces were now deep inside Georgia. ibid.
Standing alone was a price Russia was prepared to pay. ibid.
The 5th December deadline passed. There was no bridging agreement so the two sides no longer had the right to inspect each other’s sites. Putin, Russia & the West IV: New Start
Medvedev cancelled the billion dollar [Iranian] arms deal. ibid.
What Medvedev could do was tackle the corruption that flourished under Putin. ibid.
The protests moved to the streets. The ruling party had been declared winners in parliamentary elections. Well documented accusations of fraud were brushed aside. ibid.
He could now remain in office until 2024. ibid.
2011: A small village in Russia; a local farmer reports his home is shaken by a large explosion nearby. While looking for the source, the farmer stumbles upon this, remains that look nothing like the usual wildlife … A strange head and an even stranger torso and limbs. And the state it’s in is even more puzzling. The Proof is Out There s2e7, History 2022
On 24 February 2022 President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. Inside Russia, Putin launched the biggest crackdown on dissent since the Soviet era. Now only a small number continue to speak out. Inside Russia: Putin’s War at Home, ITV 2022