Putin

In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia, killing hundreds of people while they slept. The attacks plunged the country into panic. Families fled their homes. Residents patrolled their blocks around the clock. An entire nation paralyzed by fear.
But who did it? It's a mystery that has fuelled some chilling theories.
The government blamed Chechen militants. Many reporters agreed. But then the whispers started. Was something even more sinister going on?
Over 25 years later, journalists who covered the bombings still can’t agree on who planted the explosives or why.
Presenter Helena Merriman returns to the story with the reporters who were there on the ground. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss?

Vladimir Putin survived the short lived revolt that saw thousands of mercenaries march towards Moscow, but at what cost?
Jonny Dymond is joined by:
Polina Ivanova: foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, covering Russia and Ukraine.
Owen Matthews: journalist, historian and author of “Overreach”
Andrei Soldatov: investigative journalist and author of ‘The New Nobility: The Restoration of Russia's Security State and the Enduring Legacy of the KGB’
Production coordinator: Sophie Hill
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Researcher: Isobel Gough
Producer: Lucy Burns
Exec producer: Joe Kent
Editor: Emma Rippon

Ukrainecast comes together with Putin, the BBC Sounds and Radio 4 podcast which examines the life, times, motives and modus operandi of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Returning to the show are three lifelong Kremlin-watchers to cast ahead and speculate on just how this war might develop.

Professor Nina Khrushcheva is an historian at The New School in New York and the great grand-daughter of Nikita Khrushchev, Sir Laurie Bristow was the UK’s Amabassador to Moscow from 2016-2020, and Vitaly Shevchenko is the head of the Russia section for BBC Monitoring.

Today’s episode was presented by Jonny Dymond as part of a series of episodes marking the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.

The producers were Fiona Leach and Luke Radcliff. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Email Ukrainecast@bbc.co.uk with your questions and comments. You can also send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram to +44 330 1239480

In the final episode of the latest series of Putin, Jonny Dymond and three expert guests examine how the Russian president shaped the war in Ukraine between March and October 2022, and how the war has begun to shape him.
With Russia’s military position weakened by fierce Ukrainian counter-attacks, how much pressure is Vladimir Putin really under? Is there any way out for Putin, or might an increasingly difficult war proving his undoing?
Guests:
Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor
Nina Khrushcheva, Professor of International Affairs at the New School in New York
Dr Mark Galeotti, author of Putin’s Wars: From Chechnya to Ukraine

Production coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Graham Puddifoot
Producer: Nathan Gower
Researcher: Octavia Woodward
Series Editor: Simon Watts

On the 24th of February 2022, after months of military build-up and increasingly grave warnings, Vladimir Putin stepped over the brink and ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
In this episode, Jonny Dymond tells the story of the crucial first month of the war, as Putin’s ambitions first faltered and then collapsed in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance. By examining his speeches, public appearances and the political context, this programme chronicles Putin’s first weeks as a war leader.
To dispel the fog of war and understand Putin’s role at this dramatic time, Jonny Dymond is joined by:
Bridget Kendall - former BBC Moscow and Diplomatic Correspondent, now Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.
Vitaliy Shevchenko - Russia Editor at BBC Monitoring and co-presenter of Ukrainecast
Owen Matthews - Journalist, historian and author of Overreach

Production coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producers: Nathan Gower
Researcher: Octavia Woodward
Series Editor: Simon Watts