In Search of Putin’s Russia: Kremlin Rules
We travel the country to find out how Russians feel about their president and the way the Kremlin runs the country.
Twenty-five years after the Cold War, fear of Russia’s regional ambitions seems once again to be on the rise, while many Russians, in turn, feel threatened and misunderstood by the West.
The country’s president, Vladimir Putin, had said that he would “reclaim what was rightfully Russia’s”, and now, this seems to be playing out in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
The annexation of Crimea and the support for ethnic Russians fighting the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine have made Putin more popular than ever at home. But this hasn’t been so well-received outside of the country.
And there are other, more subtle, ways in which some believe Putin is turning Russia’s clocks back – with apparent support from many Russians.
So how do Russians feel about their president and his “strong armed” way of governing?
Writer and film-maker Andrei Nekrasov sets out on a journey across Russia to discover how his fellow Russians feel about Putin and the way the Kremlin is running the country.