We really can’t recommend this documentary enough. It is made by Russian state TV, and so presents a favorable view of Putin, – and is profoundly successful in rebutting the frankly preposterous mudslinging that has become so commonplace in Western media.

In the US, PBS recently ran a documentary depicting Putin as beyond evil – a thieving, murdering, democracy-smashing jerk who then invaded Ukraine. German state TV ran one with an almost identical story line just a few weeks ago.

We keep telling people – those western versions of Putin are simply not true, and amount to the crudest form of character assassination. So now here is the antidote. We would advise everyone to watch both versions and draw their own conclusions. Once you dig into the facts, it becomes pretty obvious who is BSing, and who isn’t.