russia

A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.

In the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, rising KGB officer Vladimir Putin joins forces with master manipulator Vadim Baranov to reshape life behind the Iron Curtain, using violence and deception to change the world forever. Putin and Baranov’s reign of chaos begins with lies and corruption, and quickly escalates to assassinations, tyranny, and eventually all-out war.

With firsthand accounts and access to prominent figures around the world, this comprehensive docuseries explores the Cold War and its aftermath.

Ewa Oginiec wants to leave the secret service and start over after a personal tragedy but things take a turn when her partner, also an agent, is exposed by Russian intelligence and mysteriously disappears.

In 1988, American video game salesman Henk Rogers discovers the video game Tetris. When he sets out to bring the game to the world, he enters a dangerous web of lies and corruption behind the Iron Curtain.

Love comes without asking. Often not to those, not so and not then. Can a genuine feeling survive when everything started wrong and the whole world is against it? Give up everything or give up? Burn or survive?

Marina is in her late 30s, she has a successful business and a close-knit family. Her husband is a surgeon and her daughters study at fancy establishments. To everybody her life seems perfect. Though, it is all just a facade concealing the real problems: her husband has a mistress, her elder daughter is a slacker and drug-dealer, her youngest is a sociopath. Well, Marina herself is not really a flower-lady, but a brothel-keeper who is hiding her dark business from everyone. The truth may come out when a girl of Marina’s is found dead.

As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.

While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick.

1911, A graduate of the Institute of Noble Maidens, Sasha Meshcherskaya returns to a small provincial town. The well-being of her family is based on her relationship with her loving uncle, the owner of the arms factory Nikolai Shumilov. Sashenka's parents: Prince Ivan Sergeevich Meshchersky and Maria Ilyinichna dream of their daughter's early marriage, and she herself dreams of a brilliant career as an architect. Wanting to please her parents, Sasha makes new acquaintances and instantly plunges into a whirlpool of intrigue, where political interests are at stake above personal passions. Cold-blooded murders and blackmail, intricacies of conspiracies, daring provocateurs eluding detection - all this captivates the enthusiastic schoolgirl, who experiences mortal melancholy from the paucity of life prospects. Without noticing it, Sasha becomes an ideal target for terrorist hypnosis.

Figure skater Katya suffers because of her father, who is a real domestic tyrant. After his unexpected death, she comes to Moscow to train with a tough coach and take part in the World Championships. She may have the opportunity to get a grant and gain long-awaited freedom for herself and her little sister.

Telling the story of the 2018 poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the quiet city of Salisbury, an incident that sent shockwaves across the globe. Just months later, British mother of three Dawn Sturgess died accidentally after coming into contact with Novichok, the nerve agent used in the original attack. With gripping first-hand testimony, the shocking story of the 2018 poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in Salisbury. Featuring unparalleled access to police, doctors, government officials and the military.

Through unprecedented access we showcase the spectacle that is Wild Russia. From east to west, via mountains, volcanoes, deserts, lakes and Arctic ice, this breathtaking six-part series uses stunning cinematography to chart the dazzling natural wonders of this vast country.

Albino bat Bartok – former sidekick to the wicked Grigori Rasputin – ventures to prove his true worth on a new quest to defeat the legendary Russian witch Baba Yaga.

What it felt like to live through the collapse of communism and democracy. A series of films by Adam Curtis.

This three-part series is an epic journey of discovery of the natural world along the Amur and its tributaries and of the rich wildlife and the native people inhabiting the Earth’s greatest remaining wilderness area – a surprising and exotic world shaped and perpetually reshaped by extreme forces of the atmosphere and one of the Earth’s most active tectonic zones. The three episodes portray the unique characters of the Amur’s lower, middle and upper reaches – separate worlds that could not be more different and diverse.

A look inside the Russian assault on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, told by displaced families, civilians caught in the fight and first responders.

Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.

Ryevsk, Russia, 1870. Tensions abound in the Karamazov family. Fyodor is a wealthy libertine who holds his purse strings tightly. His four grown sons include Dmitri, the eldest, an elegant officer, always broke and at odds with his father, betrothed to Katya, herself lovely and rich. The other brothers include a sterile aesthete, a factotum who is a bastard, and a monk. Family tensions erupt when Dmitri falls in love with one of his father's mistresses, the coquette Grushenka. Two brothers see Dmitri's jealousy of their father as an opportunity to inherit sooner. Acts of violence lead to the story's conclusion: trials of honor, conscience, forgiveness, and redemption.

Igor Sokolovskiy has settled in Sochi, and he has everything he needs to be happy: a smart daughter and loyal friends. But one of his friends goes to Dubai, a mecca for those who want to get rich instantly. He has a reliable plan that quickly fails, and now his friend needs to be saved. So Silver Spoon and his friends find themselves in the middle of a scam by international fraudsters.

The Russian army has no shortage of weapons despite sanctions: With an arsenal mixing old Soviet stocks and modern hypersonic weapons, the country could strike Europe in minutes. An opaque network of spies, shell companies and oligarchs ensures its war capacity through the arms trade, technology theft and state-organized policy of terror.

Ana Glinskaya Jakšić, grandmother of the great emperor Ivan the Terrible, took care of the upbringing of the minor emperor after his parents passed away. As a shadow co-ruler, she retained power at the Moscow court for the rest of her life.

A documentary feature film about the biggest global corruption scandal in history, and the hundreds of journalists who risked their lives to break the story.

Antonina Milyukova is a beautiful and bright young woman, born in the aristocracy of 19th century Russia. She could have anything she'd want, and yet her only obsession is to marry Pyotr Tchaikovsky, with whom she falls in love from the very moment she hears his music. The composer finally accepts this union, but after blaming her for his misfortunes and breakdowns, his attempts to get rid of his wife are brutal. Consumed by her feelings for him, Antonina decides to endure and do whatever it takes to stay with him. Humiliated, disgraced and discarded, she is slowly driven to madness.

A high school student becomes convinced that the world is lost to evil and begins to challenge the morals and beliefs of the adults surrounding him.

In the 19th century, Romantic composer/pianist Franz Liszt tries to end his hedonistic ways but keeps getting sucked back in by his seductive fellow composer Richard Wagner.

1942, Great Patriotic War. Returning from a mission, experienced snipers brothers Alexey and Yegor Broshin encounter the German high-class sniper Wengler. As a result of the duel, Yegor dies, and Alexey is seriously wounded and ends up in the hospital. Having barely recovered, he rushes to the front, but the medical board declares him unfit. Instead of returning to the front line, the command entrusts Alexey with an unusual task - to teach young female cadets how to be a sniper. Alexey undertakes to train his players harshly, sometimes even cruelly.

Tragedy strikes twice for an ambitious young woman searching for love at a time of great hope in the USSR

The series revolves around the main character, Sergei Krymov (the owner of a travel agency), and his common-law wife, Svetlana, who is suddenly visited by her mother, Antonina Mikhailovna, from the village. His mother-in-law quickly finds common ground with Sergei's daughter from his first marriage, Dasha, but the differences in their upbringing and outlook on life become a source of constant clashes with Sergei's sister, Valeria. Gradually, Antonina Mikhailovna learns that her daughter and Sergei are not married, and she tries in every way to facilitate this, sometimes using very unusual methods. Furthermore, at the travel agency "Krymov and Co.", where Sergei and Svetlana work, every day brings new, sometimes intractable, problems. But the resourceful mother-in-law will always find a solution, even if the situation initially seems hopeless.

The war in the Ukraine has changed the way many European countries view Russian politics. Suddenly it became clear how dependent countries had become on Russian gas imports for decades and what Vladimir Putin was up to. However, no country needs more gas than Germany. It was only after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine that the German government realized that Russia had long used gas as a weapon to impose its will on states. The instrument created for this purpose is the natural gas production company GAZPROM. So how did Germany become so dependent on Russian gas? The documentary shows how, over several decades and several changes of government, a broad alliance of politicians and business representatives did everything possible to secure Germany's energy supply with cheap Russian gas, while the Kremlin's foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and the warnings of experts went unheeded.

Set in a seaside resort in the Caucasus, the story centers on n'er do well, Laevsky and his illicit relationship with his mistress Nadya. Laevsky has convinced Nadya to leave her husband for him, but now wants to abandon her.

In the winter of 2011, after a controversial election, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. In response, hundreds of thousands of citizens rose up all over the country to challenge the legitimacy of Putin’s rule. Among them were a group of young, radical-feminist punk rockers, better known as Pussy Riot. Wearing colored balaclavas, tights, and summer dresses, they entered Moscow’s most venerated cathedral and dared to sing “Mother Mary, Banish Putin!” Now they have become victims of a “show” trial.

This three-part investigative documentary follows former members of Russian intelligence who reveal how the Kremlin’s spy networks operate. Through insider testimony and expert analysis, it examines recruitment methods, covert missions, cyber operations, and the mechanisms used to silence opposition and project influence abroad under Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Ukraine. Across its eastern border is Russia and to its west-Europe. For centuries, it has been at the center of a tug-of-war between powers seeking to control its rich lands and access to the Black Sea. 2014's Maidan Massacre triggered a bloody uprising that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych and painted Russia as the perpetrator by Western media. But was it? "Ukraine on Fire" by Igor Lopatonok provides a historical perspective for the deep divisions in the region which lead to the 2004 Orange Revolution, 2014 uprisings, and the violent overthrow of democratically elected Yanukovych.

Katya Adler examines the political situation in Europe.

Historic Russian battles to repel invaders serve as prelude to the story of events that redrew the map of Eastern Europe and parts of Asia in the 20th century. Following the turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution, Communist Russia faces the venom of Nazi aggression. 1940's film footage reveals the harsh reality of total war, as the Red Army and Soviet civilians alike confront a brutal and tenacious enemy. The following decades are darkened by tensions between the USSR and foreign powers, and violent measures taken to silence voices of dissent. Finally, the Soviet people's yearning for a freer society leads to accelerating reforms and the ultimate dissolution of the USSR.

Simon Reeve journeys across a land of Arctic tundra, vast forests and stunning fjords, investigating the surprising secrets of some of the happiest and most equal societies on earth.

Explorer Levison Wood - famous for Walking the Nile, Walking the Himalayas and Walking the Americas - is taking on a new expedition in this four-part series: to cross the mighty Caucusus mountain range that lies between Russia and Iran. And as well as a new region of the world, Levison is taking a new approach to exploring: making his way by any means necessary. Travelling with the locals and living as they do, Levison's epic, 2,600-mile journey takes him through five countries, crossing the wild lands on the tense frontier between Europe and Asia and visiting some of the most fascinating and diverse people's on earth.

One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, Simon Reeve embarks on an extraordinary three-part journey across Russia.