Putin: A Russian Spy Story

Channel 4

★★★★★ THE GUARDIAN | ★★★★★ ‘Fascinating’ THE DAILY MAIL | ★★★★ ‘Intriguing’ FINANCIAL TIMES

★★★★ ‘Mesmerising’ THE TIMES |★★★★ ‘Compelling’ I PAPER

This thrilling series shows how Vladimir Putin brought his knowledge of spy-craft to define the presidency of a nuclear power. It explores how Putin’s personal experiences have influenced his politics, how modern Russia has been created through an acute sense of betrayal, pride and anger, and how those values have been exported through military interventions, cyber-attacks and assassinations.

Told using Putin’s own words, by those close to him and by those most impacted by his actions, this series will take viewers on an unprecedented journey into the mind of arguably the 21st Century’s most influential leader.

As Vladimir Putin celebrates 20 years in power, changes in the Russian constitution could allow him to exert his will on the country after his Presidency ends. This timely series reveals an extraordinary portrait of a man who modelled himself on the Russian James Bond and whose presidency looks like a spy thriller.

Credits

Series Director Nick Green
Series Producer Paul Mitchell
Executive Producer James Rogan

Broadcast Details

This three-part series was first broadcast on Channel 4 in March & April 2020. It is being distributed by BBC Studios and is currently being repeated in several countries.

Episode 1: The Rise of Putin

Moving back and forward in time with the energy of a spy thriller, we see how the Putin we know today was shaped on the hard-scrabble streets of Leningrad (now St Petersburg). The film tracks how he escapes poverty by joining the KGB, how he models himself on the Russian James Bond, his reinvention as a political fixer in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and how he gets into position to take over from the ailing President Yeltsin.

Episode 2: Enemies and Traitors

The second instalment of this spy thriller shows how Vladimir Putin arrives in the Kremlin as a vulnerable and unknown president, whom the Russian oligarchs hope to control, and how he asserts his hold on power and ultimately surrounds himself with his KGB peers.

Episode 3: Putin Forever

The final instalment opens in Salisbury with the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. The story tracks back in time to see how Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency in 2012 after a 4-year absence is greeted by furious protests. His attempts to restore his ratings while coping with divorce and the loss of his youth are thrown off-course by accusations of corruption and American sanctions. He encourages a wave of populists, notably Donald Trump, but will he ever be able to leave power?

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