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BBC Radio 4


To understand what Vladimir Putin might do in the future, you need to understand his past;  where he's come from, what he's lived through, what he's done. Jonny Dymond tells the extraordinary and revealing story of Vladimir Putin's life with the help of guests who have watched, studied and dealt with the Russian president.


Putin

Jonny Dymond tells the extraordinary and revealing story of Vladimir Putin's life.

Introducing Putin

From street thug to spy – what the Russian president did before he came to power. 

To understand what Vladimir Putin might do in the future, you need to understand his past; where he’s come from, what he’s lived through, what he’s done. Jonny Dymond hears tales of secret agents, gangsters and the time a young Putin faced off a rat. 

He’s joined by:

Nina Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York and the great-granddaughter of former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Tim Whewell, who watched the rise of the man who’s changing the world as Moscow correspondent for the BBC in the 1990s
Dr Mark Galeotti, author of "We need to talk about Putin" and an expert in global crime and Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

Sound engineer: James Beard 
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

1. The Moth

Operation successor: the story behind the Russian president's mysterious rise to power. From bag carrier to the most powerful man in Russia. In just a few years Vladimir Putin went from working for the mayor of St Petersburg to being prime minister, then president. 

To make sense of how he did it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Misha Glenny, former BBC correspondent and author of ‘McMafia’
Natalia Gevorkyan, co-writer of the first authorised biography of Vladimir Putin published in 2000, and of “The Prisoner of Putin” with Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Oliver Bullough, writer, journalist. former Moscow correspondent for Reuters and author of “Butler to the world”

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

Sound engineer: James Beard
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

2. Out of the shadows

President Putin turns on the men who manoeuvred him to power, he turns on the media and turns to the West with an offer of support after 9/11. 

According to Britain’s former ambassador to Russia, there are two sides to Putin; one pragmatic and charming, the other angry and irrational. To understand him and what he might do next you need to learn to read both.

Jonny Dymond is joined by: 

Sir Roderic John Lyne, British Ambassador to Russia from 2000 to 2004
Misha Glenny, former BBC correspondent and author of ‘McMafia’
Irina Borogan, Russian investigative journalist and author of “The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB” 

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: James Beard
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

3. Unleashing power

Cementing power in Russia, a revolution in Ukraine and a challenge to the US - Jonny Dymond examines Vladimir Putin’s second term as president. To help him make sense of how this tumultuous period from 2004 to 2008 began a path towards events we are witnessing today, he’s joined by: 

Steven Lee Myers, former Moscow bureau chief for the New York Times and author of ‘The New Tsar; The rise and reign of Vladamir Putin’
Natalia Antelava, former BBC correspondent and co-founder and editor of Coda Story 
Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia and Eastern Europe editor for the Economist and author of ‘The Invention of Russia From Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War’

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: James Beard
Producers: Sandra Kanthal, Caroline Bayley, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

4. The Shallow Roots of Democracy

Bare-chested photo ops and the invasion of Georgia - what Vladimir Putin did as prime minister. Then, he returns to the presidency vowing to save Russia from the west.

To make sense of his carefully crafted image and how his attitudes to both Ukraine and the West have defined his rule, Jonny Dymond is joined by: 

Catherine Belton, author of ‘Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia and took on the West' 

Andrei Soldatov, a Russian investigative journalist and author of ‘The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB’

Mark Galeotti, University College London lecturer and director of Mayak Intelligence. 

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: James Beard
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

5. An Indispensable Tsar

Playing cat and mouse games with the world and using so-called little green men for masked warfare – what Russia's annexation of part of Ukraine in 2014 tells us about Vladimir Putin.

“Like tsars through the centuries, Putin sees himself as the rightful heir and the guardian of one true Christian faith,” says Lucy Ash, who has seen first-hand how the Russian leader has used religion to justify war and bolster his image. 

To make sense of the man everyone is trying to figure out, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Lucy Ash, BBC reporter and author of the upcoming book “The Baton and the Cross” about the Russian Orthodox Church under Putin 
Steven Lee Myers, New York Times correspondent and former Moscow bureau chief 
Dr Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, professor of Russian politics at Kings College London and author of “Red Mirror: Putin's Leadership and Russia's Insecure Identity

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

6. The Believer

False flags, brutal military tactics and aspirations of greatness – Putin’s approach to the war in Syria, as he tries to prove Russia is still a power-broker in the Middle East. 

To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Professor Angela Stent of the Brookings Institution, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the US National Intelligence Council 
Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute 
Kevin Connolly, former BBC Moscow and Middle East correspondent.

Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal and Joe Kent 
Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight.

7. The Ultimate Insult

Master strategist or opportunistic gambler? Vladimir Putin styles himself as a judo master – an expert in spotting weakness in his opponents and then exploiting it. To figure out what we can learn from his attempts to call time on liberal democracy and Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Henry Foy, European diplomatic correspondent for the Financial Times and a former Moscow bureau chief
Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at the New School in New York
Misha Glenny, author of ‘McMafia’ and rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

8. The Splinter

President Putin tries to crush the leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny as Russians take to the streets in protest over pensions and local elections. And there are revelations about expensive watches and a secret and very opulent palace.

To understand how Vladimir Putin rules Russia Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Catherine Belton, author of ‘Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West'

Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po and co-author of 'Spin Dictators' 

Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia Editor, BBC Monitoring 

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

9. The Emperor's Palace

In 2021 Vladimir Putin retreats to his bunker as the Covid-19 pandemic spreads through Russia. How did this isolation affect his thinking, and what role could it have played in his decision to invade Ukraine?

To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by: 
Nina Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs, The New School; former BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford; and Alexander Vindman, former director of European Affairs at the US National Security Council.

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producers: Sandra Kanthal, Caroline Bayley, Joe Kent
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight

10. Preying on Hopes and Fears

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