Putin’s Crisis 

Tues., July 11, 2023
7/6c: pbs.org/frontline, PBS App YouTube
9/8c: PBS stations (check local listings), YouTube
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It’s been described as the most serious threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership in years: the armed rebellion on June 23, led by the Russian mercenary Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin and his troops ultimately stood down, but the mutiny raised new questions about whether Putin’s grip on power may be slipping amid discontent around his troubled war on Ukraine.

Now, in a special report, Putin’s Crisis, FRONTLINE explores how the long-serving Russian leader reached this moment of uncertainty and what it could portend for the country, the region and the world.

“Enormous damage has been done to Putin’s authority, to his image as somebody ruthlessly in control of all the levers of power in Russia. Putin has been revealed to be indecisive, to not be in control and to be vulnerable to future challenges like the one Prigozhin posed,” Kori Schake, a director at the American Enterprise Institute, tells FRONTLINE.

Premiering Tues., July 11, on PBS stations and streaming platforms, Putin’s Crisis is the newest documentary from Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Vanessa Fica, the acclaimed team behind Putin and the Presidents (2023), Putin’s Road to War (2022) and Putin’s Revenge (2017). 

Drawing on both new interviews and the team’s years of reporting on the Russian leader, the documentary tells the inside story of Putin’s rise, his clashes at home and abroad, and how his war on Ukraine led to unexpected new challenges to his power.

“Even a failed coup can be dangerous. It reveals that the emperor has no clothes, right? It reveals that it is conceivable to stand against him. And if you are Putin, you are looking around that room and you are saying, ‘Which of these people has a knife in his belt? Which of these people might be thinking of moving on me next?’” says Peter Baker, New York Times journalist and co-author of Kremlin Rising.

As the war on Ukraine continues and the world watches how Putin responds to Prigozhin’s challenge to his authority, Putin’s Crisis is an essential primer on how the Russian leader consolidated power over the years — and why that power has now come under threat.

Putin’s Crisis will be available to watch in full at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App starting July 11, 2023, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel at 9/8c. Putin’s Crisis is distributed internationally by PBS International. Subscribe to FRONTLINE’s newsletter to get updates on events, podcast episodes and more related to Putin’s Crisis.

Credits
Putin’s Crisis is a FRONTLINE production with the Kirk Documentary Group. The director is Michael Kirk. The producers are Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Vanessa Fica. The writers are Michael Kirk and Mike Wiser. The reporter is Vanessa Fica. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 104 Emmy Awards and 31 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

 

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