The Power of Putin Documentary 2017: A Commentary

Saidah Jane P. Areglado

BEed 1

Submitted to:
Sir. Marlon Bunyi

October 10, 2017

The Power of Putin Documentary 2017

BBC Documentary

The Most Powerful Man in the World

This is a documentary chronicling Putins rise to power in Russia along with the implications for
ordinary Russian people.

Russia, where Putin is now the President, is once again flexing its muscles. This time its
weapons are not the Red Army or its nuclear arsenal, but the huge energy resources lying under
the Siberian tundra.

Vladimir Putin is the man responsible for the reemergence of Russia as a global power, but how
much is really known about him and his ascendance? This film explores his journey to the
highest echelons of the Kremlin and contextualizes his rise against a newly belligerent Russia
nostalgic for the past glories of the Soviet empire.

This investigative documentary covers 30 years in the history of Russia through the personal
history of Vladimir Putin: a man who has single-mindedly played all the rules of the game to
reach the throne of power.

Is Vladimir Putin really the Most Powerful Man in the World? Thats the contention, and the
title, of a new CNN documentary in which Fareed Zakaria, moderator of CNNs flagship global
public affairs program, Fareed Zakaria GPS, investigates the rise, reign, and aims of the
president of Russia. A former KGB agent, Putin is portrayed as the virtual tsar of his country, a
disruptor of the world order, and an insidious threat to democracy.

Among the questions Zakaria seeks to answer in The Most Powerful Man in the World are:
What is really going on between President Donald Trump and Putin and what does this
relationship mean for the future of America and the world? How did a man born into poverty rise
to a position of power in Russia, where he is unchecked by legislature, court, or a free press?
Why is he so popular despite the fact that the disparity between rich and poor in Russia is among
the highest in the world? And to what extent did Putin hack the 2016 election in the United
States, and influence the outcome?

To uncover the truth, Zakaria talks to several experienced Russia experts, including Robert
Gates, former secretary of defense under George W. Bush and Barack Obama; Henry Kissinger,
former secretary of state in the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations; Masha Gessen,
journalist and author of The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (2013);
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and the author of Lenins Tomb: The Last Days of
the Soviet Empire (1994); and Julia Ioffe, columnist for The Atlantic and Foreign Policy and a
contributing writer to the Huffington Post Highline. Zakaria also includes excerpts from his own
interviews with Putin.

One of those interviewed is a Russian journalist who says that his countrymen view Putin not
just as the president of Russia, but as the president of the United States. How close to the truth
that claim might be is one of the issues confronted by this documentary.

What is the true nature of the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and,
what are the implications of their relationship for America and the world? CNNs Fareed
Zakaria searches for answers to these essential questions in The MOST POWERFUL MAN IN
THE WORLD. The one-hour documentary simulcasts Monday, March 13 at 9:00pm on
CNN/U.S. and CNN International, and then replays on CNN/U.S. at 12:00am. Both times
Eastern.

Putin is subject to neither a legislature nor a court, and there is little free press in Russia. Reared
in Soviet poverty, Putin served as a KGB officer in East Germany before maneuvering his rapid
rise from deputy mayor of St. Petersburg to president of post-Soviet Russia.

In The MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD, one Russian journalist tells Zakaria that
Russians view Putin as the president of Russia and, as the president of the United States. Yet,
Zakaria asserts Putins Russia is a Potemkin village, where a faade of power masks deep
economic and demographic dysfunctions.

Zakaria gets answers to the many questions that surround the extraordinary conclusion reached
by American intelligence: that Putin likely approved the hacking of the U.S. election.
He also explores what the fallout could be if the relationship between these two combustible
presidents deteriorates.

For The MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD, experienced Russia watchers and
diplomacy experts offer insights into Putins persona, and how Russias internal politics continue
to shape Putins hostile postures against his enemies, at least two successive U.S. presidents, and
four former American Secretaries of State.

For the documentary, Zakaria includes elements from his own past interview with Putin to tell
the story. Also, interviewed for this special broadcast are:

Robert Gates, former, U.S. Secretary of Defense (George W. Bush and Barack Obama
administrations, 2006-2011); former Director of the CIA (George H. W. Bush Administration,
1991-1993);

Henry Kissinger, PhD, former U.S. Secretary of State (Nixon & Ford Administrations, 1973-
1977); chairman, Kissinger Associates;

Masha Gessen, journalist; author, The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir
Putin (2013);

David Remnick, editor, The New Yorker; author, Lenins Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet
Empire (1994); and,

Julia Ioffe, columnist, The Atlantic & Foreign Policy; contributing writer, The Huffington Post
Highline

Fareed Zakaria is also host of CNNs flagship global public affairs program, Fareed Zakaria
GPS, which airs Sundays on CNN/U.S. and CNN International.

Producers of THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD will interact with viewers via
Twitter, with user questions and comments about the documentary. THE MOST POWERFUL
MAN IN THE WORLD will livestream via CNNgo (via desktop, AppleTV, Roku, Amazon
Fire, and iPad). After the premiere, viewers can also watch this documentary on demand via
cable and satellite providers and CNNgo.
Zakaria has been one of Trump's most outspoken critics on CNN, once calling the president
a "bulls--t" artist" on live television.

"Its sort of amusing to watch hows he going to pull it off this time? What is he going to
argue? Usually he adds that the press hates him. But theres a term for this kind of thing. This is
the mode of a bullshit artist, Zakaria said in August.

The special will also feature Julia Ioffe of the Atlantic, David Remnick of The New Yorker,
former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

The FBI is investigating Russia's suspected intervention in the 2016 election, as well as links
between Trump's campaign team and Russia.