In Search of Putin's Russia

In Search of Putin’s Russia: Arising from the Rouble

We explore the contradictions and subtleties of how Russia’s unique economic structure impacts everyday life.

The Russian economy is in crisis. Many Russians are struggling to make ends meet, due to sanctions in the wake of the Crimea crisis and the Ukraine conflict, unstable oil prices, and a fluctuating currency.

Even the better off have been affected by the economic crisis in various ways.

But who is responsible for the crisis?

Is it Putin’s imperial ambitions, or the Western response to them, the Kremlin’s economic policies, the infamous corruption, or the communist legacy?

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Russian journalist and filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov travels across the country to try to explain and understand the impact of Russian economic policies.

He talks to Russians from all walks of life to find out how the economic conundrum is affecting their lives – from the very foods they can find in the supermarket to the medical care for people in faraway rural areas.

He also explores how Russian businesses are actually prospering as a result of international sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. Yet, these very businesses face the same problems with Russian banking policy as an average citizen trying to get a mortgage.

Economists have long been concerned about what will happen when the oil boom ends, and about the lack of investment in structural changes in the economy. So is enough being done to invest in Russia’s future?