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Putin: The New Tsar is 2018 a documentary produced by OxfordFilms/BBC and directed by Patrick Forbes, airing on BBC2. It discusses Vladimir Putin's rise to power. Interview subjects include politicians and non-politicians, with some being Russian and others being foreigners.[1]
Among the participants are Garry Kasparov, a chess prodigy;[2] Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oligarch;[3] Sergei Pugachev, who was in Putin's power network;[2] Ksenia Sobchak, a member of Russian high society;[3] Ian Robertson, a psychologist from Trinity College Dublin; and Jack Straw, a British politician.[1] Robertson stated that Putin's experience in a high political position "profoundly changed" his brain.[3]
Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph stated that Putin: The New Tsar's "true purpose was to place in historical context Putin's unlikely rise from provincial obscurity in St Petersburg" to being the President of Russia.[3] It was produced prior to the 2018 Russian presidential election. Power stated that it "fleetingly touched upon" allegations of Russian agents attacking enemies of the Russian government outside of Russia.[3]
Sam Wollaston of The Guardian gave the film four of five stars and stated that Putin: The New Tsar "could almost be funny if it weren't so scary".[2]
Power gave the film four of five stars. He stated that "an attempt to diagnose Putin as an addict to absolute power" as the film's "biggest error".[3] He concluded the film was "otherwise an exemplary portrayal of" Putin.[3]
The Moscow Times praised the dispassionate tone in the narrator and the "[crisp] and [coherent]" pace.[1] It criticised the "clichéd title", the lack of coverage of Russian political opposition, and overstating the level of support Putin has among Russian citizens.[1] The paper concluded that Putin: The New Tsar is "very much worth tracking down and talking up."[1]
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