The years 1825-1918 were bloody and traumatic, a period when four tsars tried - and failed - to deal with the growing pressure for constitutional reform and revolution. In 1861, millions of enslaved serfs were freed by the Tsar-Liberator, Alexander II. But Alexander paid the ultimate penalty for opening the Pandora's box of reform when he was later blown up by terrorists on the streets of St Petersburg. Elsewhere, there was repression, denial, war and - in the case of the last tsar, Nicholas II - a fatalistic belief in the power of God, with Nicholas's faith in the notorious holy man Rasputin being a major part in his undoing. Lucy Worsley also details the chilling murder of Nicholas and his family in 1918, and asks whether all of this horror have been avoided.

A powerful depiction of Vladimir Mukhin's struggle to resuscitate an almost forgotten russian cuisine, going against the established tradition. Be prepared for stunning images of culinary creations at White Rabbit, some will leave you uneased.
A fifth-generation chef, Mukhin worked in his father’s kitchen as a young man, preparing Soviet-era classics. So, like generations of youths before him, Mukhin had to rebel against the old man. He left his small hometown of Essentuki for Moscow and became obsessed with modern techniques and food from across Europe. It wasn’t until he worked as a sous chef in France, when he collaborated on a menu with chef Christian Etienne, that Mukhin realized Russian cuisine could exist within modern cooking. 'His French clients who ate it were amazed,' he says. ¡They loved his Russian cooking.'

Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone was granted unprecedented access to Russian president Vladimir Putin during more than a dozen interviews over two years, with no topic off-limits. This remarkable four-part documentary series provides intimate insight into Putin's personal and professional lives, from his childhood under communism, to his rise to power, his relations with four U.S. presidents, and his surprising takes on U.S.-Russian relations today. Witness the most detailed portrait of Putin ever granted to a Western interviewer.

Witness the most detailed portrait of Putin ever granted to a Western interviewer. This series provides intimate insight into Putin's personal and professional lives, from his childhood under communism, to his rise to power, his relations with four U.S. presidents, and his surprising takes on U.S.-Russian relations today. Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone was granted unprecedented access to Russian president Vladimir Putin during more than a dozen interviews over two years, with no topic off-limits.

Putin thinks that the West must understand that today's Russia cannot function exactly as the West does, already. Putin also explains his views on NATO, and cannot see any reason to why this military alliance has grown after the fall of Communism in Europe.
When Stone asks about Putin's views on Edward Snowden and whether he is a traitor or not, Putin replies, 'No he is not, as he never has worked for any foreign country,' and also claims that Russian intelligence does not know anything more than what Snowden already had leaked before he arrived at Moscow.

This is a destabilizing documentary that challenges Americans’ narratives and asks the viewer to engage in a conversation with a slippery subject. It’s riveting in how dangerous and intimate it feels, leveraging its multiple camera-angles and hand-held shots to make the viewer feel as if they, too, are in the room with Vladimir Putin.
As a conversation that covers a vast span of Russian history, culture, and politics as refracted through the mind of Russia’s president — it’s often remarkable. During an extraordinary career, Stone has never pretended to be an unbiased journalist and he’s not about to feign pretense now.