Program /
Documentary History
Imprimer


Directors
GENTELEV Alexander


Production
POINT DU JOUR
ALMA FILMS


Distribution
POINT DU JOUR INTERNATIONAL

Year
2005

Duration
(2x50')
(1x90')

Available versions
English
French

Awards
"Special Jury Prize", Banff World Television Festival 2006

"Special Mention", PRIX EUROPA 2006

RISE AND FALL OF THE RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS (The)
modern history
 
Vladimir Putin's inauguration in 2001 was a ceremony fit for a king… a Czar. Putin looked like a man who knew he was about to rule the great empire of Russia! Today, he governs almost single-handedly, controlling the Parliament (Duma) and changing the constitution as he wishes. Although he has abolished most independent media and free speech in Russia, his most vicious war is against the men who brought him to power, hunting down the richest and most successful businessmen of Russia, putting them in jail and confiscating their corporations. The stakes of this war are huge, involving the core of Russia’s natural resources, namely oil, gold, aluminum, and media corporations all worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Putin’s war seeks to reclaim what he views as state property stolen by illegal means and manipulations.
Boris Berezovsky, Putin’s archrival, resides in London, fighting an extradition order issued by the Russian state. Berezovsky, a multi-billionaire who just five years ago helped to crown Putin as Russia’s leader, now seeks to overthrow him. Berezovsky believes he is fighting the “new Czar," as many Russians refer to Putin, in the name of democracy and Free Enterprise.
With unprecedented access we can chart for the first time the full landscape of this war. It is a story that we can now tell as a living drama narrated by its main protagonists. Since 1996 we have followed the equivalent of Russia’s Fords and Rockefellers, the “Oligarchs”, individuals who seized the historical moment of transition when Communism collapsed in Russia. Their reflections are startling and candid, as they describe their legal and illegal moves, as well as their naked quest for power and political influence.