0:00:09 > 0:00:12Russia is about to elect a new president.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14There's no doubt who it's going to be.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19The same man who has ruled unchecked for the last 18 years.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Now it's classical one-man dictatorship.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27That's what always happens with dictators.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29You look at Hitler and Stalin, it's always, you know,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31step-by-step, step-by-step.
0:00:31 > 0:00:36The real Vladimir Putin remains an enigma.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39So who is the world's most powerful and feared leader?
0:00:42 > 0:00:45We talk to the presidents he has threatened...
0:00:45 > 0:00:49He said, "Your friends are making lots of nice promises to you,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51"but they never deliver.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54"I don't promise you anything nice, but I always deliver."
0:00:55 > 0:00:59..the Western leaders whose vulnerability he has exploited...
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Putin has invented new kinds of warfare,
0:01:02 > 0:01:06which Western countries are still struggling to come to terms with.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10What is called this full-spectrum capability.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14..and the inner circle of intimates
0:01:14 > 0:01:16who made him president in the first place.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Vladimir Putin's psyche
0:01:32 > 0:01:35has been forged on the anvil of absolute power.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38The consequences for the future of the world are nothing
0:01:38 > 0:01:39if not significant.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44It's not IF Putin would attack, it's only when and where.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03You could take the view that Putin's had long enough,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05it's time for somebody else.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Really a time for a change is the root of what you should be saying.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14Ksenia Sobchak is one of eight Russian presidential candidates.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Vladimir Putin has been a family friend for decades.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22One important goal is to speak to the world,
0:02:22 > 0:02:27to make them understand that Russia is not Putin.
0:02:27 > 0:02:31She's meeting Lord Bell, one-time Thatcher confidante,
0:02:31 > 0:02:32for some strategic advice.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34You're a woman, for a start.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36That gives you an immediate advantage over Putin
0:02:36 > 0:02:39- and every other contestant. - A young woman.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41It wasn't true of Thatcher.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Thatcher had never thought of herself as a woman.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44THEY LAUGH
0:02:44 > 0:02:47- She thought of herself as a politician...- That's true.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I actually met her in Saint Petersburg, you know.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52I know you worked with her...
0:02:52 > 0:02:56But Sobchak knows her family friend all too well.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58He isn't going to allow her to win.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59..after elections,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I hope it will be a big result to understand
0:03:02 > 0:03:06that chances of winning are quite minimal right now, shall we say.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09- But...- But never say that, though, will you?
0:03:09 > 0:03:11Yes, I am saying it.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13You should always tell people you're going to win.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15You want people to vote for you...
0:03:15 > 0:03:18But in Russia, you know, people know that Putin will win.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22He created the system that allows only him to win,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24so the system is unfair.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51There were no hints of the future Tsar back in the '70s.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Born to poor parents in a tough suburb,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58he fought his way to university and then a lowly KGB post.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02But that only lasted as long as the Soviet Union.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49In the chaos of the time,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Mayor Anatoly Sobchak needed a tough guy -
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and the KGB officer fitted the role perfectly.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03From being a grey-faced KGB agent, just a servant
0:05:03 > 0:05:06of the state, he becomes a personality,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09and so the ego starts to grow.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Struggling to understand the unfolding enigma
0:05:13 > 0:05:17of Vladimir Putin, successive world leaders have turned
0:05:17 > 0:05:22to one man for answers, a respected authority on power and the mind.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25The human brain has a single reward network,
0:05:25 > 0:05:31a single feel-good network that gets switched on whenever we feel,
0:05:31 > 0:05:36paid a compliment, whenever we have sex, whenever we take cocaine
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and whenever we have power and great success.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43What happens is you get a surge of intense pleasure
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and satisfaction from the stimulus,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49but as you repeat that at a higher level, the brain needs more
0:05:49 > 0:05:52and more to achieve the same effect. That's called tolerance.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56It's an insatiable appetite.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00I don't think Putin was born to be an emperor.
0:06:00 > 0:06:06His brain was PROFOUNDLY changed by the power he managed to get.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10CHEERING AND MUSIC
0:06:15 > 0:06:20In the late 1990s post-Soviet Russia was on the brink of collapse.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22A drunk president, gang warfare,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26robber baron businessmen, openly contemptuous of the rule of law.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Kremlin insiders knew the country needed a saviour.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31Any saviour.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57The obvious successor to Yeltsin was Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00charismatic, eloquent and principled.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04But Yeltsin hated him, after he opposed the Chechen war.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07And there was somebody else.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11In 1996, Vladimir Putin had come to Moscow
0:07:11 > 0:07:16to work in the administration, keeping a low profile.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41POLICE SIREN
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Gleb Pavlovsky was Boris Yeltsin's spin doctor,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and he was tasked with preparing the succession.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:08:53 > 0:08:57Now he's locked in a bitter legal conflict with Putin's government,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59but back in the '90s,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03his old dacha neighbour was also a Kremlin insider.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:10:21 > 0:10:25If you're made president, that's one big, big rush.
0:10:27 > 0:10:35That is an enormous biological hit to the reward network.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Suddenly, you're no longer just subject to the corporatist
0:10:41 > 0:10:44ideology of the communist regime.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45That regime is dead.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49You're now in charge of a new regime.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52That is a rush to the brain.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53That is a rush to the brain.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58You have not been brought up with the notion
0:10:58 > 0:11:00that there are constraints in power.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02You know, you've been brought up in a system,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04there's no democracy to it.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08That ideology has gone, the communist ideology has gone,
0:11:08 > 0:11:09so he's left without an ideology.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13The ideology he's witnessed in Saint Petersburg
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and around him is an ideology of power.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Of power and money.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Putin asked me at that time,
0:11:34 > 0:11:39just two days after he became Acting President, he called for me
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and offered me position of Prime Minister.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I listed my conditions,
0:11:45 > 0:11:50those conditions were just very simple, just like 10, 15
0:11:50 > 0:11:55reforms, which I understood and were absolutely sure Russia badly needed.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57And he accepted it.
0:11:57 > 0:12:04And the only clamour from his side was just, "Don't step on his field."
0:12:05 > 0:12:06On presidential field.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Erm, I...
0:12:10 > 0:12:12..decided to accept this.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14CAMERAS CLICK
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Mr Putin implemented his promises.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21He supported all the reforms.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Except one.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Except the reform of gas sector.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33APPLAUSE
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I first met him early in the year 2000.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38He was very much the apprentice leader.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41He had been surprised to find himself President of Russia.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43When he became president,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45everybody in Moscow was saying "Who is this man?"
0:12:45 > 0:12:49He had no political background, he'd hardly ever made a political speech.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51He was quite nervous.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53But also very sharp.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00He selected Tony Blair as the first foreign leader that he wished
0:13:00 > 0:13:03to meet, because at the time Tony Blair was the pre-eminent
0:13:03 > 0:13:06leader in Europe, he was at the height of his popularity
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and, in a sense, one felt that Putin was trying
0:13:09 > 0:13:13to learn from Tony Blair how to be a political leader.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19My impression of this was that he was a guy who was in charge,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21who was comfortable in his skin.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27And, of course, Tony Blair was the same.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30So there was a lot of testosterone around.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33You know, Tony, one of the reasons why he was
0:13:33 > 0:13:36so successful was he has a very strong sense of who he is
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and who he was and also he likes himself and he likes his body.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42I mean, neither will thank me for saying this,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46but they are actually remarkably similar in many ways.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Putin said, "I want to make Russia a strong state again and I want
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"to reconnect it with the West,"
0:13:55 > 0:13:57and he spent a lot of the next three to four years
0:13:57 > 0:14:02trying to get a seat at the top table of world and Western leaders.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Question to President Bush -
0:14:04 > 0:14:06is this a man that Americans can trust?
0:14:06 > 0:14:09I'll answer the question. I looked the man in the eye,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15I was able to...
0:14:15 > 0:14:18..erm, get a sense of his soul.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The sight of their president back on the world stage,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25his team's success in stabilising the country's battered economy
0:14:25 > 0:14:29led to soaring personal approval ratings.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32But also a desire for personal compensation.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05I never dreamed to become the member of the government,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08and actually I was Deputy Minister of Transport,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and that was just coincidentally.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15TYPEWRITER CLICKS IN BACKGROUND
0:16:18 > 0:16:20INTERVIEWER: You know, the lazy argument in the West
0:16:20 > 0:16:21is that you only got these posts
0:16:21 > 0:16:24because you were a neighbour of Vladimir Putin.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Er, quite contrary.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29Er...
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Quite contrary.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33At that time he was already in Moscow
0:16:33 > 0:16:39and that was a pure invitation
0:16:39 > 0:16:41from the Ministry of Transport.
0:16:43 > 0:16:44INAUDIBLE
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It wasn't only a reward for a job well done.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Ministers' rising compensation
0:16:53 > 0:16:56was a reflection of others' vast wealth.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00At that time, 46%...
0:17:02 > 0:17:04..of entire GDP...
0:17:04 > 0:17:07..of Russian Federation
0:17:07 > 0:17:10was produced by companies,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12privatised companies,
0:17:12 > 0:17:17which actually belong to eight families
0:17:17 > 0:17:19in Russian Federation.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22It is not known.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25You are the first to whom I am telling this openly.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30And what is the danger of an economy that is controlled by eight people?
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Same like all over the world.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Inequality.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Just inequality.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Putin now trained his sights on those eight men, the oligarchs.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45They'd been gifted their companies and huge wealth
0:17:45 > 0:17:48by the Yeltsin administration, in a chaotic auction,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51in return for political support.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02Early in 2003, the President engineered a gladiatorial clash.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05On the one side, the man who ruled Russia.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08On the other, the men who owned half of it.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12The chosen topic of conversation, corruption.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14A double-edged sword.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the spokesman for the oligarchs,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43the fourth richest man in the world,
0:18:43 > 0:18:47suspected by the Kremlin of wanting to turn wealth
0:18:47 > 0:18:48into political influence.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17I didn't pay much attention at that time,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20because, just, it was announced that there would be meeting
0:19:20 > 0:19:22devoted to, er, corruption
0:19:22 > 0:19:26and the oligarchs' team, erm...
0:19:26 > 0:19:29..offered to Mikhail Khodorkovsky
0:19:29 > 0:19:32to make a presentation on their behalf.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13And then Putin, he explode a little bit and saying how all of you,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17and you particular, Khodorkovsky, got your wealth.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31I arranged this meeting.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33- You arranged it?- Yes.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34- What?!- Yeah.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07MIKHAIL BREATHES HEAVILY AND SIGHS
0:21:07 > 0:21:08LAUGHTER
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Khodorkovsky's fatal mistake was that he chose a massive oil deal
0:21:59 > 0:22:02as his major example of corruption.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07A deal which it turned out his president knew everything about.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Mr Putin started to explain me, in the many, many details,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15he knew everything in details, that was...brought me to the
0:22:15 > 0:22:18understanding there's something wrong, started to appear...
0:22:19 > 0:22:23That he knew about the terms of this transaction.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Putin was as good as his private word.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Khodorkovsky was slammed in jail and his vast business sold off,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54first to a vodka bar in Siberia,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56and then to a company controlled
0:23:56 > 0:23:59by one of the President's closest allies.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03This was a turning point,
0:24:03 > 0:24:08because Yukos was the poster child for the Russian oil industry.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12It was very well regarded in the West,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16and you thought, you are damaging Russia's image
0:24:16 > 0:24:17in the Western business world.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20You're damaging the chances of getting more investment in.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24So it seemed like a pretty high-risk policy, but for Putin,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27zapping Khodorkovsky was so important
0:24:27 > 0:24:31that the economic considerations took second place.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35The West may not have liked it, but ordinary Russians did.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37They were delighted to see their president
0:24:37 > 0:24:40taking on the hated oligarchs.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45And it wasn't the only sign of a new-found personal confidence.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Russia and Belarus were negotiating a gas deal and talks broke down.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I instructed Gazprom, continue to supply.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It's February, minus 25 in Minsk,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02continue to supply, then later we negotiate.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06And next morning just Prime Minister of Poland calling me,
0:25:06 > 0:25:07Prime Minister of Lithuania...
0:25:07 > 0:25:10Governor of Kaliningrad Region.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12"What's going on? We have no gas."
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Because just they were on the same line, on the same pipeline.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21President of Gazprom, he said -
0:25:21 > 0:25:24"Putin instructed me to cut supplies."
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Then we were shouting to each other.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29HE LAUGHS So what did you say?
0:25:29 > 0:25:32He said he didn't respect Lukashenko, didn't respect me.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37I, Putin, asked him personally just to accept this price and he didn't.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39He didn't sign the contract. He didn't respect me.
0:25:41 > 0:25:42Two weeks after, I was fired.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48The whole Cabinet was fired just two weeks prior to elections.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49HE LAUGHS
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Stability at home, his vast country once again at peace
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and a Cabinet under his direct control.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02It looks like the new president has single-handedly reversed
0:26:02 > 0:26:04the years of decline.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15One of the features of unlimited power
0:26:15 > 0:26:20is the acquired narcissism that occurs.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26And the acquired narcissism leads to, you know,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29a really...enormously inflated ego.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34You know, you're teaching cranes to fly,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37or you're fighting bears, you're wrestling tigers.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41You're just the smartest, cleverest, strongest,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45best-looking guy in the world!
0:26:45 > 0:26:46HE LAUGHS
0:26:48 > 0:26:51And, you know, if you inflate an ego enough,
0:26:51 > 0:26:56then the vulnerability of it increases proportionately.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01SHOUTING AND CHANTING
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Then trouble broke out where he least expected it...
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Georgia.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Revolutions swept away his allies
0:27:19 > 0:27:23and a coltish reformer took power, Mikheil Saakashvili.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28My first contact with Vladimir Putin
0:27:28 > 0:27:32was during my first official visit to Moscow.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36They tried to persuade...
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Er, he actually rolled out red, red carpet,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42first full official visit ceremony.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49The whole setting was meant to be a kind of recruiting session,
0:27:49 > 0:27:53because Putin first took us to the office that...
0:27:53 > 0:27:55He'd said that it was former office of Stalin,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58and then he took off his tie, jacket,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01he invited me to do the same, and then sat down with me
0:28:01 > 0:28:04in what was meant to be a very,
0:28:04 > 0:28:06you know, friendly and open conversation.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11From the very first meeting, I ask him, "So, so, Vladimir,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15"do you have any problems with our dealings with the Americas?"
0:28:15 > 0:28:16"No", he said "no".
0:28:16 > 0:28:18"I myself friends with George Bush.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20"Of course we strongly...
0:28:20 > 0:28:24"No, we are not in principle against you dealing with the Americas,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27"we are just against you being slaves to the Americas".
0:28:28 > 0:28:31But then he told me something very clear.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35He told me that the sitting Georgian Minister of Security
0:28:35 > 0:28:39in Shevardnadze's government, he told me that this is our guy.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42"We have very good experience of working with him.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46"He really helped us a lot and I hope he keeps his position.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49"If he keeps his position, that will make it very easy,
0:28:49 > 0:28:50"our co-operation."
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Second time I met him, he asks, "Where is he?"
0:28:54 > 0:28:56And I told him, "Well, he got promoted.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58"We appointed him as Deputy Prosecutor General.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01He said, "Well, this is not a promotion.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04"We wanted to help him as Minister of Internal Security".
0:29:04 > 0:29:06By that he told me, "You are not going to fool me".
0:29:06 > 0:29:11Saakashvili, he enjoyed sort of poking the bear in the eye,
0:29:11 > 0:29:13and that's not always a very wise policy,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16and some people around him advised him not to do it,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19and he would've been better advised not to do it.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23The psychological and the personal now
0:29:23 > 0:29:27plays a much bigger role in international politics,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29because of the old certainties,
0:29:29 > 0:29:35the old tectonic plates of ideology and of interest between blocs,
0:29:35 > 0:29:36they've all gone,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39and we're now in a system where individual human psychology
0:29:39 > 0:29:42and personality plays much more of a role.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:44 > 0:29:46To Putin's intense irritation,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Bush immediately responded to Saakashvili's overtures,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53reversing the pro-Russian stance he'd earlier held.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Georgia is today most sovereign and free
0:29:58 > 0:30:03and a beacon of liberty for this region and the world.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Putin began to believe that the Americans could never be trusted.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12A view strengthened as the tide of revolution
0:30:12 > 0:30:14reached neighbouring Ukraine.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17BBC NEWS THEME
0:30:17 > 0:30:20- HUW EDWARDS:- Now to the political crisis in Ukraine.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22CROWD CHANTS
0:30:22 > 0:30:27The Orange Revolution pitted Putin's man, incumbent Viktor Yanukovich,
0:30:27 > 0:30:30against challenger Viktor Yushchenko,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34who the Kremlin thought was a US puppet.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36At the polls, Yushchenko won,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39despite the best efforts of Putin's personal spin doctor.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35That was a massive humiliation for Putin
0:31:35 > 0:31:38and it was the shakiest moment of his 18 years in power.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43For three months after that, people in Moscow were actually asking
0:31:43 > 0:31:45whether he would last till the end of his Presidential term.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49It was a huge defeat for him
0:31:49 > 0:31:53because he was perceived as having lost Ukraine.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01It's a defeat the President has never forgotten and never forgiven.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04He could never trust the West again.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06A perception its politicians,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10glorying in democracy's victory in Ukraine, only strengthened.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19From the West's point of view, this was the end of history,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22liberal capitalism had triumphed.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25I was a bit tough on the Russians, but there we are.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29And I wish we'd handled it differently.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34Imagine if, in the United Kingdom, there'd not just been Scottish
0:32:34 > 0:32:37independence but Welsh independence and Northern Irish independence,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41but the North West and the North East of England
0:32:41 > 0:32:44and the South West had also decided to declare independence.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50So we didn't really factor that in in my view
0:32:50 > 0:32:58and we then scared the Russians with this absolutely fundamental
0:32:58 > 0:33:03anxiety they've always had about being encircled.
0:33:03 > 0:33:08In hindsight, I think that we created the anxieties
0:33:08 > 0:33:10and we could have avoided them
0:33:10 > 0:33:14from which many of Putin's subsequent policies followed.
0:33:21 > 0:33:252005, everything changes.
0:33:25 > 0:33:30Vladimir Putin turns inward back to Russia and its people.
0:33:30 > 0:33:35Gone modernisation, gone attempts to woo the fickle West.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40Instead, "Putin is Russia, Russia is Putin" is the new slogan.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43He will rebuild his country himself.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08But there's a looming problem.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11In two years' time, Putin has to stand down.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13A new president is to be elected
0:34:13 > 0:34:17and liberal opponents are already starting their campaigns.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21Notably chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27It was a very different game from one that I'd been playing before
0:34:27 > 0:34:32because that game was a clear winning combination.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36In 2007 there still was a chance for Putin to walk away.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Already probably the richest man in the world,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43and was a massive influence and, by the way, with a decent reputation.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48This is the world's most famous chess player,
0:34:48 > 0:34:51then still ranked number one.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54Definitely one of the most recognisable faces in Russia.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Absolutely the most recognisable face in Russia
0:34:57 > 0:35:00outside of movie stardom and Putin.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Certainly the man, if you asked anybody anywhere in Russia,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07"Who's the smartest man in Russia?"
0:35:07 > 0:35:10they'd probably say Garry Kasparov.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15He almost immediately went on tour
0:35:15 > 0:35:20and I was with him on this little chartered plane.
0:35:22 > 0:35:27Within the space of a week, things started shutting down.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31First we had to give up the plane
0:35:31 > 0:35:33because they would no longer let him land.
0:35:35 > 0:35:41In Beslan he couldn't get the venue where he was supposed to speak.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45They said that they had a burst pipe
0:35:45 > 0:35:48or they had an electrical failure.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Wherever anyone went it was either a burst pipe or an electrical failure.
0:35:53 > 0:35:58I think that was the first place where he got stuff thrown at him
0:35:58 > 0:36:01and we actually thought it was a gunshot.
0:36:01 > 0:36:02By the time we got to Sverdlovsk,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05which is the largest city in Southern Russia,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08it was no longer a chain of coincidences.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10At this point the plane is grounded,
0:36:10 > 0:36:14the place where he is supposed to speak had a burst pipe
0:36:14 > 0:36:16and then we try to check into a hotel and they say,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18"No, you can't check into this hotel."
0:36:20 > 0:36:26We had a dinner booked for 30 or 40 people
0:36:26 > 0:36:29from the local small business association
0:36:29 > 0:36:32and we get to this restaurant
0:36:32 > 0:36:34and there was one person there.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39And it emerged as we talked...
0:36:39 > 0:36:41She was from the small business organisation.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46It emerged as we talked that she had lost her cellphone the day before,
0:36:46 > 0:36:50so she was the only one who wasn't called
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and threatened by the Governor's people.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02The grandmaster soon finds himself under arrest.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Tell your leaders that this regime is criminal. It's a police state.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19I have to say that, compared to what we are seeing today,
0:37:19 > 0:37:23those were vegetarian times.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Ten years ago, for protesting peacefully against Putin
0:37:27 > 0:37:30on the streets you could end up in prison for five or ten days.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33Today you would end up in prison for five or ten years.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42My first trial, which ended up with a £40 fine,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45but the judge there, she set up the rules for the future
0:37:45 > 0:37:48because everything that happened with me was videotaped.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52I had videotape, I had witnesses that proved that everything that
0:37:52 > 0:37:54they presented in court was a lie.
0:37:54 > 0:37:59She said she trusted a policeman, one policeman, over the rest
0:37:59 > 0:38:06of the pile of evidence because he wore the military uniform.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32Kasparov isn't the only one trying his luck.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36So is Mikhail Kasyanov, keen to return to power.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41I decided to run. I believed at that time we had a chance.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45I started to run and at that time it was necessary to collect
0:38:45 > 0:38:49two million signatures and we did it.
0:38:49 > 0:38:56Then my support started to grow from 6%, which is usually 5%-6%,
0:38:56 > 0:39:02up to 18% and one month after they cut me out of elections,
0:39:02 > 0:39:06just describing that 35 signatures out of two million signatures
0:39:06 > 0:39:08we believe not right, not correct.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11HE LAUGHS
0:39:12 > 0:39:17With no Kasyanov or Kasparov in the mix, Putin's man, Prime Minister
0:39:17 > 0:39:22Dmitry Medvedev, succeeds him as President, but then, in defiance of
0:39:22 > 0:39:25the spirit if not the letter of the constitution,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29that new Prime Minister is Vladimir Putin.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32His country's future too important to relinquish.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Power too addictive to give up.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38That is absolutely clear for everyone in Russia
0:39:38 > 0:39:44that his successor is simply just to keep the presidential seat warm
0:39:44 > 0:39:50and he successfully implemented this goal Mr Putin wanted him to do.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55This is why democracy was invented.
0:39:55 > 0:40:00Take anyone who is given absolute power for more than, say,
0:40:00 > 0:40:05eight or ten years, that will inevitably distort their behaviour
0:40:05 > 0:40:07in ways that can be very dangerous.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17In 2006, Putin had pushed a law through Parliament allowing
0:40:17 > 0:40:21the KGB to kill traitors outside Russia.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27Months later, Alexander Litvinenko lay dead in London,
0:40:27 > 0:40:31the KGB defector poisoned with radioactive polonium after
0:40:31 > 0:40:36eating sushi and drinking tea in a Mayfair restaurant.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39I was on my way to London for a meeting with Tony Blair
0:40:39 > 0:40:44and Litvinenko had been murdered a few days before that
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and everybody was talking about it.
0:40:47 > 0:40:48So we had to stop over in Minsk.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52We went to see an exhibit, after which we had a banquet.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54There was Putin in the middle.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59I was on his right hand and Lukashenko on his left.
0:40:59 > 0:41:05And Lukashenko has this habit of poking Putin from time to time,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08even making fun of him.
0:41:08 > 0:41:13And so he started to say, "So from here you're leaving for London
0:41:13 > 0:41:15"so you should really be well fed.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18"I don't advise you to eat anything in London."
0:41:18 > 0:41:23And so he said, "Especially I don't advise you to eat any sushi.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27"Don't even go close to sushi, but the safest thing to eat from
0:41:27 > 0:41:29"which you won't for sure be poisoned
0:41:29 > 0:41:31"is from plate in front of Vladimir."
0:41:31 > 0:41:35So he takes plate from Putin and gives it to me.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40And so Putin suddenly interrupts and says,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44"I have nothing to do with the murder of this Litvinenko guy."
0:41:44 > 0:41:45He got visibly annoyed.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52"No. Who the hell needed Litvinenko? He was nobody.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54"Why would I murder him?"
0:41:54 > 0:41:57But it really got under his skin.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Ever since, Russia has persistently denied responsibility
0:42:01 > 0:42:04for Litvinenko's death.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08But behind the jokes in Minsk lay tension,
0:42:08 > 0:42:12Putin warning Saakashvili he should drop the West or pay the price.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18He took me aside. It was a meeting without witnesses.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22It was a dark room next to the main hall.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26We sat on chairs. There was not even a table.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31So he put his hand on my knee, like, with nails and,
0:42:31 > 0:42:33looking straight into my eyes, said,
0:42:33 > 0:42:38"You really underestimate us. You cannot play around with Russia."
0:42:40 > 0:42:44The all-powerful Putin was increasingly inclined to show
0:42:44 > 0:42:46open contempt for his former allies.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51One thing that struck me,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55an anecdote about Putin which reveals to me
0:42:55 > 0:43:00that he's probably not a very nice person, is Angela Merkel is
0:43:00 > 0:43:06afraid of dogs and made the mistake of divulging this to Putin.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11And one time when she was in Russia, what did he do,
0:43:11 > 0:43:15but bring this enormous horrible big dog into the room
0:43:15 > 0:43:19just so that he could then enjoy the power that comes, that
0:43:19 > 0:43:24somewhat sadistic power that comes from making someone frightened.
0:43:29 > 0:43:332008 - The Georgian crisis boiled over.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37A separatist rioted in the dissident republic of South Ossetia.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40The Russian Army massed on the border with Putin certain
0:43:40 > 0:43:44the hapless West would do absolutely nothing.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49It was obviously that it was basically on the edge of war,
0:43:49 > 0:43:53so Europeans and America started to make statements.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55I tried to call Medvedev because Medvedev was officially the
0:43:55 > 0:43:59President, but then they called me back from Russian protocol and said,
0:43:59 > 0:44:01"Vladimir Putin wants to talk to you."
0:44:01 > 0:44:03And Putin says, "Why are you calling Medvedev?
0:44:03 > 0:44:05"It's me who is doing all these things
0:44:05 > 0:44:08"and I'm directing the whole operation."
0:44:08 > 0:44:12So I told him, "Look, we are very worried. Not only are we worried.
0:44:12 > 0:44:17"Look at the statements. We have the White House, the European Union."
0:44:17 > 0:44:20He said, "I already saw the statements.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23"They are really very harsh, strong statements."
0:44:23 > 0:44:27He said lots of paper was spent on the statements.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31So he told me, "Mikheil, why don't you call your friends in the West
0:44:31 > 0:44:35"and tell them to roll this paper and stick it in their asses?"
0:44:47 > 0:44:51While the rest of the world is watching the Beijing Olympics,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Vladimir Putin sends in the tanks
0:44:54 > 0:44:58for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11What happened at that moment, finally the Americans will help.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17I have directed the Secretary of Defense Bob Gates to begin
0:45:17 > 0:45:20a humanitarian mission to the people of Georgia
0:45:20 > 0:45:23headed by the United States military.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27This mission will be vigorous and ongoing.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30And one of the things that they leaked was that Cheney wanted
0:45:30 > 0:45:33to hit the Russians with cruise missiles.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Within 40 minutes of the Bush announcement,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42Russian troops' advance on our capital was stopped.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45So Putin got the message.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48The West was horrified by the invasion and relieved at the
0:45:48 > 0:45:51pull back, but even a five-day war
0:45:51 > 0:45:54made Russians feel their country was strong again.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56A firm leader at its tiller.
0:45:56 > 0:46:00Worried European countries decide it's time to try
0:46:00 > 0:46:01and be friends again.
0:46:03 > 0:46:07I visited Moscow and I saw then-President Medvedev.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09This was in the period
0:46:09 > 0:46:12when Putin had stepped into being Prime Minister
0:46:12 > 0:46:16while, of course, still holding the reins of power.
0:46:16 > 0:46:21Medvedev is much more a normal European politician.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26Talking to him you get a much less sinister feeling really
0:46:26 > 0:46:28than talking to President Putin.
0:46:31 > 0:46:37I escorted him to the Olympics when he came here in 2012.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41I took him to the ExCel Centre to see the Judo.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46I know a bit about Judo. I've done some Judo. Not as much as he has.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49A Russian won the gold medal, which Putin enjoyed, of course,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52immensely because he wasn't going to go back to Moscow
0:46:52 > 0:46:55until he had seen a Russian win a gold medal.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57He was going to stay as long as necessary.
0:46:57 > 0:47:04We had champagne, you know, we had quite a party
0:47:04 > 0:47:07and we waved him off, knowing that they'd won a gold medal,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10with some relief that he didn't need to stay a couple of days.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Two years later, the Sochi Olympics were intended to be another
0:47:23 > 0:47:26stepping stone in Russia's path to global dominance.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32The President poured vast amounts of time and money into the project.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40But the Games also served to distract the world's cameras
0:47:40 > 0:47:43from his next bold foreign policy manoeuvre,
0:47:43 > 0:47:46as Russia seized control of Crimea.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54Dictators never ask why. It's always why not?
0:47:56 > 0:47:58But we could see an acceleration.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02For Hitler it took 20 months from Berlin Olympics
0:48:02 > 0:48:04to annexation of Austria.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07For Putin it took only 20 days,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09from Olympics to annexation of Crimea.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18Putin has developed a very clear consistent approach in dealing with
0:48:18 > 0:48:22problems in those neighbours, which is to take a physical stake in them.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24Something which,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27every time he does it, is astonishing to Western opinion.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30Of course it wouldn't be astonishing any more because he's done it
0:48:30 > 0:48:36several times, but to physically take part of one of those countries,
0:48:36 > 0:48:40to stop that country functioning as a sovereign state...
0:48:42 > 0:48:45..and that is how he arrests the arrival
0:48:45 > 0:48:48or the growth of Western ideas.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54And of course he was bold enough to do the same in Syria.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57To physically intervene, in my view,
0:48:57 > 0:49:02emboldened by Western failure to intervene.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07One of the key features
0:49:07 > 0:49:12of the extreme narcissism of the emperor
0:49:12 > 0:49:17is you lose the ability to distinguish your interests
0:49:17 > 0:49:20from the interests of the country.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24And so you and your nation's interest becomes identical.
0:49:26 > 0:49:31To the baffled West, Vladimir Putin looked arbitrary and out of control.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35But to his people he looked like a true Tsar, happy to flout
0:49:35 > 0:49:39Western norms of behaviour to safeguard Russia's vital interests.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Then one old rival decides to challenge the apparently
0:49:48 > 0:49:49invincible President.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54CROWDS CHANT
0:49:54 > 0:49:58Boris himself had as close a relationship to power as anyone.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02For many years he was perceived as the heir apparent to Yeltsin.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04And then Putin takes that place.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08And, of course,
0:50:08 > 0:50:09neither of them can sort of
0:50:09 > 0:50:12let the other alone.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Nemtsov, I think, for principled reasons,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16and Putin for reasons of insecurity and vengefulness.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Boris Nemtsov started small -
0:50:23 > 0:50:29a pamphlet alleging that his nemesis had 58 jets, two yachts,
0:50:29 > 0:50:30a summer palace,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34making Vladimir Putin the world's richest man.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37His co-author was a former government minister.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Boris Nemtsov and myself, we were questioning the whole narrative
0:50:42 > 0:50:46that things got so much better under Putin that we should be just
0:50:46 > 0:50:49happy and let him be the lifetime monarch.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53We described a lot of irregularities and serious problems that
0:50:53 > 0:50:57existed underneath the economically brilliant surface.
0:50:57 > 0:51:03Growing inequality became much higher than in the 1990s,
0:51:03 > 0:51:06growing corruption and institutionalised corruption,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09which also was never the case in the '90s because, in the '90s,
0:51:09 > 0:51:15it was all bribes from businessmen to bureaucrats, but under Putin,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19it became bureaucrats completely affiliated with making dirty money,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21and actually it became their business,
0:51:21 > 0:51:24and their only business, to do so.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28You know, we are not perfect,
0:51:28 > 0:51:30but who actually is?
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Did I commit things?
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Yes, I committed things.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40But I never killed a person,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44I never slapped anybody by the face,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48either figurally, either, you know, physically,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52and I never stealed from anybody.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57I help a lot and, you know, from time to time,
0:51:57 > 0:52:01it returns to me in the form of just unexpected support.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10I call him Boris,
0:52:10 > 0:52:15but sometimes I have started to call him suspect.
0:52:15 > 0:52:21But he was a man with a brilliant sense of humour.
0:52:24 > 0:52:30He was preparing the next pamphlet devoted to the election in Crimea.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35It's a very sensitive subject for Putin's regime.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48One winter's night, Boris Nemtsov
0:52:48 > 0:52:50starts to cross the Moskvoretsky Bridge,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53in the shadow of the Kremlin walls.
0:52:53 > 0:52:59Moments later, he's shot in the back and the head four times.
0:52:59 > 0:53:00I was of course shocked.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03I couldn't even imagine that it could happen
0:53:03 > 0:53:04in the 21st century,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07with us, in the centre of Moscow.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12I immediately came there, on the bridge,
0:53:12 > 0:53:14and I just was standing,
0:53:14 > 0:53:18and the body of... Murdered my friend.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Just on the front of Kremlin wall,
0:53:21 > 0:53:25where just all Secret Service cameras were just installed.
0:53:33 > 0:53:37I was shocked. It was a real shock for me.
0:53:37 > 0:53:38I didn't think it was possible.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42I didn't think it was possible.
0:53:42 > 0:53:43And I didn't know...
0:53:45 > 0:53:47..who was guilty of it.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Despite the absence of any CCTV -
0:53:50 > 0:53:53Kremlin's cameras were being serviced that night -
0:53:53 > 0:53:57four men are arrested for Nemtsov's murder - one a former para.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03But Nemtsov's supporters doubt ultimate responsibility lies
0:54:03 > 0:54:05with the former serviceman.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08If you stand there and look at the location,
0:54:08 > 0:54:10then you completely understand that,
0:54:10 > 0:54:14in this place, it cannot happen
0:54:14 > 0:54:19without not only the permission but the order from person number one.
0:54:31 > 0:54:36Almost all people who hold great power for a long time begin
0:54:36 > 0:54:38to feel so special.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40"I am so amazing.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44"God must have something to do with this.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51"Look, I can snap my fingers and they invade a country.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55"I can... I have power of life and death over man and woman."
0:54:57 > 0:55:01George W Bush confessed he thought that God was
0:55:01 > 0:55:04involved in his decision on the Iraq war.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09Tony Blair hinted of a wee chat with God now and again.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Julius Caesar had himself deified when he was still alive.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15With unchallenged authority at home
0:55:15 > 0:55:18and his nearest neighbours put in their place,
0:55:18 > 0:55:23the President is now able to spread his influence even further afield.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29It seems very evident there was a Russian interference
0:55:29 > 0:55:30in the election.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34The amount of evidence amassed by the intelligence agencies
0:55:34 > 0:55:38in the United States about Russia is unlikely to be wrong.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41A lot of people say, as an example, you know,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44"Hillary likes to play tough with Russia."
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Putin looks at her and he laughs, OK?
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Putin's goals are strategic goals.
0:55:55 > 0:56:01He wants chaos because that's his breathing air.
0:56:01 > 0:56:06He needs chaos because that's how he installs his authorities
0:56:06 > 0:56:08inside and outside of Russia.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11He doesn't want to compete.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13He cannot compete with the free world,
0:56:13 > 0:56:16but the moment it comes into wars and conflicts,
0:56:16 > 0:56:20he's dominant because he is very quick at making decisions.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23He doesn't bother about Parliament, free press,
0:56:23 > 0:56:26public opinion, so he immediately grabs
0:56:26 > 0:56:31an opportunity if it is presented.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35He looks at the world map, looking for bargaining chips,
0:56:35 > 0:56:37because for him it's all geo-political casino.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44I think this is part of a pattern where there has quite probably been
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Russian interference in elections
0:56:47 > 0:56:52and referendums throughout Europe over the last few years,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55not always to achieve a specific result
0:56:55 > 0:57:01but to diminish confidence in the democratic process
0:57:01 > 0:57:05over time and to weaken the unity of the West.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09And it's not over.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23With just days to go to the election,
0:57:23 > 0:57:28the President announces a new global arms race, with nukes
0:57:28 > 0:57:32designed to elude any antimissile system, present or future.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48Out on the campaign trail, there's
0:57:48 > 0:57:52a growing tide of suspicion that the President is just using his family
0:57:52 > 0:57:56friend as a window-dressing on his inevitable accession to power.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02So you're not the Kremlin's puppet, then?
0:58:02 > 0:58:06Well, I'm tired of answering this question. No, I'm not.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08Do you want to be the next president?
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Well, I want to,
0:58:11 > 0:58:14but I'm not sure it will be this year.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17But I hope in six years, I'll have a chance to do that.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20To my mind, there is no way out,
0:58:20 > 0:58:24he will stay there for a long time.
0:58:29 > 0:58:33Even if you could arrange a handover
0:58:33 > 0:58:38that guaranteed he would not suffer the fate of Gaddafi
0:58:38 > 0:58:40or Saddam Hussein,
0:58:40 > 0:58:44how would you replace the incredible
0:58:44 > 0:58:49mainlining into your reward network of exceptional power?
0:58:49 > 0:58:53There is an awful bleakness and blackness out there awaiting you.