Episode 3 Russia with Simon Reeve


Episode 3

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Transcript


LineFromTo

I'm just starting the third and the final leg

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of my journey across Russia.

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But I'm actually in the neighbouring country of Ukraine and that's

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because I'm heading to one of the most bitterly contested regions

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on the planet.

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I'm on my way to Crimea.

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No country in the world, really, apart from Russia,

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recognises this as a border.

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The international community see this annexation as an illegal occupation

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of Ukrainian land.

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Seizing Crimea has led to conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

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It's led to Russia being internationally isolated.

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I had to come.

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This final leg of my journey across Russia takes me from Ukraine's

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Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea,

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across western Russia's vast plains to my final destination,

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glorious St Petersburg.

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-ALL:

-Aaaaah.

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100 years on from the Russian Revolution...

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What on earth goes on in here?

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..I'll meet the Russians living a simpler life in the wilds.

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This is like stepping back a century.

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I'll discover what happens when you speak out in Russia.

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A Russia once again taking on the West.

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And I'll meet the tough blokes fighting for what they say are

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traditional Russian values.

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I think I'm going to puke.

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Wow! It's this sort of spectacular view that makes Crimea such

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a special place, such an attractive destination for many Russians.

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In 2014, after revolution in Ukraine moved the country closer to

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Europe, Russian special forces seized government buildings

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in Crimea.

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Russia simply took over,

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then organised a questionable referendum on who should govern.

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Alexander.

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Crimea's home to nearly two million people.

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Like my boat skipper Alexander Bykov, most are ethnic Russians,

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and they voted overwhelmingly for rule by Russia.

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Many here like to point out, correctly, that Crimea was ruled by

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Russia for centuries. It only became Ukrainian during the time

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of the Soviet Union.

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Look at the size of this!

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I've got a chesty cough

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and some other minor ailment, so it's quite helpful

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I'm staying in a sanatorium.

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There are dozens of sanatoriums, or health resorts,

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along Crimea's Black Sea coast.

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They date back to Soviet times, and they've long been a major draw for

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Russian holiday-makers.

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Thank you kindly.

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Looks very nice.

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I don't know about you, when I hear

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"sanatorium"... HE SUCKS IN BREATH THROUGH TEETH

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..it doesn't sound like a great word, sounds very Soviet,

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sounds like punishment is involved.

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Makes me think of medical conditions,

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purging and enemas.

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It's like Chinese whispers here, cos I can't actually see

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the girl doing it, so I'm basing it

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on what other people around me are doing.

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-ALL:

-Aaaaaaaah.

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It's time for me to see the doctor.

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Doctor. HE LAUGHS

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-Good morning.

-I had an appointment with Dr Vadim Danilov.

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-Uh, doctor? Let's go.

-Go, go.

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What's going on in this room? Can we see in there, doctor?

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After annexation,

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tourist numbers dropped, so the Russian government has started

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encouraging civil servants and pensioners to come here on

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subsidised health breaks.

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Goodness me! LAUGHTER

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-Zdravstvuyte.

-Zdravstvuyte.

-I'd shake your hand, but...

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What is going on here? What are you inside?

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You have existing conditions and you really feel that they're treated

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by this, by the plastic bath?

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Da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

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-That's a yes?

-Da.

-LAUGHTER

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Were you more or less keen on coming to Crimea since the annexation?

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What on earth goes on in here?

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Some lady who's just come out shaking her head.

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OK.

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I was intrigued and slightly nervous to discover how 80-year-old

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Dr Lydia Yegorova was planning on treating my cough.

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Whoa! Oh, my goodness.

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Bloody hell!

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What do you mean, "relax"?

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You're about to put blood-sucking creatures on me,

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how am I supposed to relax?!

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Oh, my God!

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Yeah, it's biting, yeah.

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Is this really necessary?

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Have you not got some small plasters?

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Listen, I'm happy with a plaster!

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President Putin grandly says

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he annexed Crimea to protect ethnic Russians.

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It might actually have more to do with oil and gas reserves

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in the Black Sea. Either way, the UN has condemned Russia's actions.

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Look at this. Can we just, can we stop for a moment?

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Not that President Putin, the all-powerful Russian tsar,

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cares what the world thinks.

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This is a very bold statement of ownership and involvement from

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President Putin.

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So it says that Crimea has always been famous as a resort, basically,

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and, "Of course we will develop it further."

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It's basically promising there's going to be a tourism boom here.

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Tourism is already important here, but it's now central to Putin's

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vision for a successful, new Crimea under his rule.

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I headed to one of Crimea's more surprising attractions -

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the Taigan Safari Park.

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It's all the dream of one man...

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..with a somewhat relaxed approach to health and safety.

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HE GROWLS SOFTLY

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So this is Oleg, he owns and runs the park,

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obviously in a very hands-on sort of way.

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LIONS SNARL

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This bloke is completely mad.

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-Hello, Oleg.

-Hello, hello.

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All right, we're off.

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This is a tourist attraction, but also a sanctuary.

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Many of Oleg's animals have been rescued from people's homes.

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Are you seriously telling me there are tiger cubs

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for sale on the internet?

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That's absolutely incredible!

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6,000, so that's about £5,000, you can buy yourself a tiger cub.

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That's unbelievable.

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OLEG CHUCKLES Yeah.

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Please, come, please.

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TIGER CUB SNARLS

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Against the odds,

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Oleg's park has become a successful breeding centre for Russia's

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Amur tiger, whose habitat I found under threat earlier on my journey.

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How are you, how are you producing so many cubs?

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It's very rare, isn't it?

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Oleg is a patriot.

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He was born in Russia and enthusiastically supported and voted

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for Crimea to be governed by Moscow,

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but now he's having doubts.

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So, Oleg, we're following your water truck, I think.

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What's going on? Where are we, where are we following it to?

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With the critical water supply from Ukraine cut off,

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Oleg now has to transport water to his park from a local reservoir.

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Isn't this something that should've been thought about

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before Russian annexation?

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Much of Crimea is arid, and most of its water comes from Ukraine.

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Without it, reservoirs here are drying up.

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Wells are being dug hundreds of feet deep, but they're running out of

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water. Some experts think Crimeans will need to be resettled.

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They warn of a humanitarian crisis.

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Just stopped by the side of the road because I wanted to show you this.

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It's a quite extraordinary sight, really. This is a canal that should

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be flowing with water from Ukraine down into Crimea, but because of

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the conflict, because of the annexation by Russia,

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Ukraine has turned off the taps.

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It's dammed the waters that flow down it and dried up the canal.

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This is an artery, this is a lifeline bringing water into Crimea.

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And without it,

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Crimea is in enormous trouble!

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Russia wanted Crimea, and Crimea in many cases wanted Russia.

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But the people of Crimea may find they have a very heavy price to pay.

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Ruling Crimea isn't going as smoothly as Putin might have us

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believe. Corruption is rife, and minority groups here have accused

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Russia of human rights abuses,

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and Putin has had to pledge vast sums to develop Crimea.

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Crimea is now almost completely cut off from Ukraine and it doesn't

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have a direct connection with Russia,

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but President Putin has a plan to change that.

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Come on, then.

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Let's go and have a look.

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Oh, bloody hell, look at that!

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Oh, my!

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So that is Russia over in the distance, over there, and then

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the bridge, look, it's like a giant steel cable,

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anchoring Crimea and Russia together!

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This is one of the most politically symbolic constructions that is

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underway anywhere in the world at the moment.

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It's a really solid concrete and steel statement that Crimea is

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connected to Russia, and Russia is here to stay.

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The German army and the Soviet army both tried to build a bridge between

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Crimea and Russia.

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President Putin says he's determined to succeed,

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that it's a historic mission.

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It's certainly costly.

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This build has swallowed a huge

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chunk of Russia's national transport budget.

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The fact this bridge is being built is just extraordinary, but who is

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building it is really interesting.

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It's a firm run by President Putin's childhood judo sparring partner,

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his old mate.

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That's Putin's Russia for you.

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Power and wealth are the gift of the tsar.

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It was time for me to leave Crimea

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and get back on the road in Russia.

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The next stage of my journey took me to Russia's European heartlands,

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north of the Ukrainian border.

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When Ukraine turned decisively towards Europe in 2014,

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Russia didn't just annex Crimea,

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President Putin encouraged, perhaps orchestrated,

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an armed uprising in the east of Ukraine which became a war that has

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cost more than 10,000 lives.

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Geography can help us to understand what happened.

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This is the vast, flat European plain across which mighty armies

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have invaded Russia, including the French under Napoleon,

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the Germans under Hitler, and even the Swedes.

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Let's have a look at this map.

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I think this gives a sense of why

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geography is so critical.

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So the European plain

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is almost all of western Russia,

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almost 2,000 miles from north to south.

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There are no mountain ranges here that act as a natural barrier

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against invasion.

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It is very hard for Russia to defend its western border.

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But as the plain spreads across northern Europe over to here,

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it narrows.

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Here it's bounded in the north by the Baltic Sea and in the south by

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the Carpathian Mountains.

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This is a gap that can be plugged.

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Armies can be stopped here...

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..if there are pro-Russian governments in power

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in the countries to the west of Moscow,

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particularly in Ukraine.

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If there's a pro-Russian government in power in Ukraine,

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massive Ukraine, Russia can feel safe.

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That's not to excuse what's happened.

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Russian efforts to destabilise neighbouring countries

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are causing deep alarm.

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America and the EU imposed heavy sanctions on Russia and Russia

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responded by banning many imports from the West, including of food.

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Most observers think this is all a bit of a disaster for Russia's

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relationship with the West but some farmers here sense an opportunity.

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So this, I presume the bloke on the right there is Vladimir.

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-Vladimir.

-Bonjour.

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-Bonjour!

-Parlez Francais?

-No, no, no. SIMON LAUGHS

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We'll drive in. OK, thank you.

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Merci.

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Vladimir Borev is a farmer, a former journalist, and a bit of

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a character, with a passion for all things French.

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Who-o-o-oa! What a view.

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-Here.

-Oh, look!

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-This is my...

-Your goats!

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What a glorious scene this is, Vladimir.

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HE GRUNTS

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You go bareback.

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You want me to get on with you?

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All right.

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Jonathan, you know how you...

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Can I use your knee?

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Thank you, mate. All right.

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I think I might have to get off.

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My back... O-o-oh!

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Russia's oil wealth means other industries have been out of favour

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in recent decades. Farming has been in decline and Russians have bought

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foreign food. Ironically Western sanctions seem to have given farms

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like this a huge boost.

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Come on goaties, come on.

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Come on, you don't want to get left out.

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Come on. Come on, you're all right.

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President Putin has said he wants Russia to be self-sufficient in food

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by 2020, I think. Do you think it's possible?

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Vladimir might be happy with sanctions, but they've caused hefty

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price rises for most Russians.

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-This is a cheese house.

-Wow!

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Are you busting sanctions here?

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It's a very clever way of getting round the European Union stopping

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you buying French cheese.

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Simon, come on. This is a...this is a cheese.

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This is a liquid cheese.

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Liquid cheese?

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What? Liquid cheese?!

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Oh, you old temptress, you.

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Thank you.

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Mmmm!

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O-o-oh!

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Have you made alcohol from cheese?

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-Yes.

-That's just...either genius or mad, perhaps both.

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I can see from all your pictures you're obviously very interested in

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Russia's Imperial Tsarist past.

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Do you think Russia needs a strong leader?

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So, does the growing gulf or divide between Europe and Russia,

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does it... It must upset you.

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Has Russia done nothing wrong?

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Cheers, sir.

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Bloody hell. A bit rammed.

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I think it's conscripts who are heading off on the train.

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OK, let's go to Moscow.

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17 and 19, and that is here, here we are.

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HE YAWNS

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That's very kind. Spasibo.

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Is this what you're going to survive on overnight?

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THEY LAUGH

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The journey to Moscow was short by Russian standards,

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just ten hours by rail.

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Remember, this country is a whopping 5,500 miles wide.

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I think I might be slightly too long for this bed,

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my feet are halfway into the passageway.

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Goodnight.

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I was heading north on the final part of my journey, through

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the night, to the heart of power in Russia.

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It's 6:10 and we're just pulling into the station.

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Now we've just stopped...

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..in Moscow.

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I'd never been to Moscow before.

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It was more beautiful than I'd imagined.

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The sense of power, absolute power, was tangible.

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We hear a lot about the wealth of Russia and some Russians.

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In reality it's in the hands of a few,

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as is the power and the privilege.

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HE LAUGHS

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Today, Moscow is a megacity, home to 12 million people.

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Its infamous traffic is a symptom of rapid growth.

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Not that everyone needs to be stuck in a jam.

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What's this lane in the middle of the road here?

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You need to be close to the pinnacle of power.

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Who's that, then? Is that somebody very important?

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I was leaving the congested centre of Moscow.

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I wanted to see where most people here actually live.

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It's interesting, actually. This is the sort of housing where so many

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Muscovites live, these massive apartment blocks.

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There's also still a lot of people living in this type as well.

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These are known as Khrushchevkas,

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and they're named after the former leader of the Soviet Union,

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Nikita Khrushchev,

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who first announced in the 1950s that the Soviet Union was going to

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begin a programme of housing construction, the like of which has

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never been seen before.

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For many Soviet families, many Russian families,

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these Khrushchevkas were their first family home.

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And, as a result, many Soviet families, many Russian families,

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have very warm memories of these apartment blocks.

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DOORBELL RINGS

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Natalia, hello! Simon, hello.

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-Hello.

-Hello, zdravstvuyte, lovely to meet you.

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-Can we come in?

-Yes, yes.

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Natalia Budkevich works at a state-run theatre.

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-So sweet. Look at that.

-Come.

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What a lovely place you've got.

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-You've got a grand piano in here!

-Yeah, yeah, I've got it.

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Every little bit of it has memories and meaning to you.

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The government has passed legislation to demolish more than

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half of Moscow's Khrushchevkas.

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A population equivalent to San Francisco will be relocated to

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brand-new high-rise apartments.

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The world's biggest demolition order was signed by the president,

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with little public discussion, at a stroke of a pen.

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Natalia has no grounds to appeal.

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I wanted to see what happened to Natalia when she tried to protest

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against her eviction.

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-That's you.

-Yeah, it's me.

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So you were standing,

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protesting, on your own or with a couple of other people?

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-No, just on my own.

-Just on your own?

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Oh, my God!

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It sounds like you feel quite powerless.

0:32:530:32:55

The authorities here say they are trying to replace

0:33:150:33:17

substandard housing.

0:33:170:33:19

Opponents think it's all a money-making exercise

0:33:190:33:21

for the government and property developers who are given

0:33:210:33:24

the lucrative contracts.

0:33:240:33:27

The demolition plan helped inspire a new wave of protests, with huge

0:33:270:33:31

numbers of Russians taking to the streets in anti-corruption

0:33:310:33:34

demonstrations.

0:33:340:33:36

Many have been arrested.

0:33:360:33:38

Russian law requires protests by more than one person to have state

0:33:380:33:41

approval. Natalia insists she was demonstrating alone, and she invited

0:33:410:33:45

me to her first appearance in a Russian court.

0:33:450:33:48

THEY SPEAK IN RUSSIAN

0:33:500:33:53

Yeah, that's it, that's it.

0:33:580:33:59

Good luck.

0:34:020:34:04

Well, that was very odd.

0:34:070:34:08

We were allowed to film in the courtroom, but only for about

0:34:080:34:11

a minute, and then we had to get the camera out. The judge came in,

0:34:110:34:14

the case lasted about ten minutes, and now I'm just waiting for Natalia

0:34:140:34:17

to come out and tell me what's happened.

0:34:170:34:19

Fingers crossed for her.

0:34:190:34:22

The odds on anyone getting an acquittal in a Russian court

0:34:220:34:25

are slim. Russian courts have a 99% conviction rate.

0:34:250:34:30

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I'm OK.

0:34:300:34:32

Is this your first experience of that side of life here?

0:34:500:34:55

-It's Russia, it's hard-core, you know?

-SHE LAUGHS

0:35:120:35:16

Really hope it goes OK. Good luck.

0:35:160:35:18

-Thank you. See you.

-See you.

0:35:180:35:20

-Bye-bye.

-Good luck. Bye.

-Bye-bye.

0:35:200:35:22

There's long been some sort of unspoken agreement

0:35:250:35:27

here between President Putin and the Russian people.

0:35:270:35:30

It goes something like, "I will give you jobs, a bit of money,

0:35:300:35:35

"you'll have a chance to buy stuff and occasionally take

0:35:350:35:37

"a foreign holiday, but don't question my power."

0:35:370:35:41

THUNDER

0:35:410:35:42

That agreement is now starting to break down.

0:35:440:35:46

Russians are saying, "We've had enough of being treated like sheep.

0:35:460:35:50

"We want to know where Russia's wealth is going."

0:35:500:35:55

THUNDER

0:35:550:35:57

You can probably hear the thunder. Appropriately enough,

0:35:570:36:00

there's a storm coming.

0:36:000:36:02

I headed west, out of Moscow...

0:36:090:36:13

..and towards Russia's other great city.

0:36:150:36:18

We get to do something most travellers don't do

0:36:220:36:24

when they come to Russia.

0:36:240:36:26

Most people go to Moscow and/or St Petersburg.

0:36:260:36:30

I'm going to explore the countryside in between those two great cities.

0:36:300:36:34

I was taking the long route, off the main roads and through the rural

0:36:360:36:40

heartland of the far west.

0:36:400:36:42

The Volga! That's known as the Mother Of Rivers.

0:36:460:36:50

In Russian folklore, the Volga is the lifeblood of the country.

0:36:520:36:55

This used to be an important agricultural region.

0:36:580:37:02

Can we just stop here for a second?

0:37:020:37:04

Now, everywhere, there were signs of neglect and slow decay.

0:37:040:37:08

I presume this is some sort of grain silo.

0:37:100:37:13

We're just a few hours from Moscow but this is, um...

0:37:130:37:18

..this feels like forgotten, emptied Russia.

0:37:180:37:21

This was probably part of a huge collective farm in Soviet times,

0:37:230:37:29

so this whole area was farmed industrially,

0:37:290:37:33

under state control.

0:37:330:37:35

On collective farms, workers were poor but they had a steady income.

0:37:380:37:43

Less productive regions of Russia were supported by the state.

0:37:440:37:47

Now there are no such guarantees.

0:37:480:37:51

Jobs have disappeared.

0:37:510:37:52

Logging timber is one of the few flourishing industries around here,

0:37:530:37:57

and much of that is done illegally.

0:37:570:37:59

With few jobs, many Russians in isolated regions like this have

0:38:040:38:08

a very basic existence.

0:38:080:38:10

Wow.

0:38:170:38:19

This is like stepping back a century.

0:38:200:38:22

There's smoke coming from a couple of the chimneys, though, so there

0:38:260:38:29

must be some people living here.

0:38:290:38:31

DOGS BARK IN DISTANCE

0:38:350:38:36

Let's see if we can find anyone.

0:38:360:38:38

This place doesn't get too many visitors...

0:38:440:38:46

..but I met a villager called Tatiana Zavreskaya,

0:38:480:38:51

who was a bit surprised at my interest.

0:38:510:38:54

Only three families left? MOSQUITOES BUZZ

0:39:030:39:06

And, and quite a lot of mosquitoes. SHE CHUCKLES

0:39:060:39:08

SHE LAUGHS Wow!

0:39:120:39:15

They are hungry, aren't they?

0:39:150:39:17

Take us in, Tatiana, away from the mozzies! THEY LAUGH

0:39:190:39:23

CAT MEOWS

0:39:230:39:25

-Mama Dasha.

-This is Mama, Mama Dasha.

0:39:290:39:33

All right, so in here...

0:39:330:39:35

Thanks, Tatiana.

0:39:370:39:38

So...I'm going to stay in here.

0:39:390:39:43

I think we'll involve... on the sofa there.

0:39:450:39:48

What a place, eh?

0:39:510:39:52

Oh, it must be tough to survive here.

0:39:560:39:58

They're not completely cut off.

0:39:590:40:01

There's an outside phone offering free emergency calls.

0:40:020:40:06

They have some power.

0:40:070:40:09

If they want to boil a kettle, they need to warn their neighbours,

0:40:090:40:12

but it's enough to watch the TV.

0:40:120:40:14

SHE LAUGHS

0:40:210:40:23

What do you make of what's going on in the world at the moment?

0:40:280:40:30

I feel really confused by things,

0:40:300:40:33

because I grew up on the other side of the Iron Curtain from you.

0:40:330:40:37

I grew up in Britain during the Cold War,

0:40:370:40:40

and there, then I was quite scared of the Soviet Union.

0:40:400:40:44

Then the Iron Curtain came down and we became friends.

0:40:440:40:47

And now it sounds like we're becoming enemies again.

0:40:470:40:50

I think it sounds very sad.

0:40:500:40:51

SHE LAUGHS

0:41:100:41:12

No, you look like somebody we should be holding hands with, Tatiana.

0:41:120:41:15

Of course YOU do.

0:41:150:41:16

Almost all Russians get their news from TV.

0:41:210:41:25

Of course, Russia's not alone in having broadcasters who pump

0:41:250:41:29

propaganda, but Putin's almost total control of Russia's TV networks has

0:41:290:41:34

been absolutely key to his popularity and his grip on power.

0:41:340:41:38

I should be OK in here.

0:41:400:41:41

Those little critters won't get through this.

0:41:410:41:44

Even Russian mosquitoes can't get through this net.

0:41:440:41:47

Night-night.

0:41:470:41:48

This feels ancient.

0:41:590:42:00

The cheeky frog! LAUGHTER

0:42:190:42:22

It feels like a...an old way of life.

0:42:220:42:26

SHE SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN

0:42:280:42:30

Is that about right?

0:42:380:42:40

So, as you look out on the village here,

0:42:480:42:50

with so many of the houses decaying away,

0:42:500:42:53

what do you think the future holds for this village?

0:42:530:42:56

SHE CHUCKLES I do think

0:43:060:43:09

there's some tragedy in the loss of all the culture and traditions that

0:43:090:43:14

are wrapped up inside Russian village life.

0:43:140:43:17

SHE LAUGHS

0:43:310:43:33

HE LAUGHS

0:43:350:43:38

Isn't it extraordinary that life now, and where people want to live,

0:43:380:43:43

is often at least partly dictated by broadband speeds?

0:43:430:43:48

Isn't that an extraordinary thing?

0:43:480:43:50

The whole world is urbanising,

0:44:000:44:02

but the Russian countryside is being emptied at an astonishing rate.

0:44:020:44:06

Since the end of communism,

0:44:060:44:08

roughly three villages have been abandoned every day.

0:44:080:44:11

It's had a devastating impact on rural life.

0:44:110:44:14

At a small cottage hospital, I found Dr Sergey Vishnyakov,

0:44:140:44:18

who arrived here in Soviet times.

0:44:180:44:21

We now know much more about the brutality of that era,

0:44:210:44:24

but Sergey has a rosy view of the health system back then.

0:44:240:44:28

It's claimed more than 15,000 Russian towns and villages have

0:45:360:45:40

no medical infrastructure at all.

0:45:400:45:42

Budgets are being slashed.

0:45:440:45:46

So far, Sergey's managed to fight off plans to close this hospital.

0:45:460:45:49

He's the sort of doctor you want, isn't he?

0:45:560:45:58

A doctor who's got almost boundless reserves of knowledge and care.

0:45:580:46:01

Spasibo, spasibo.

0:46:330:46:36

For you, living out here in an area that used to be busy,

0:46:360:46:40

where there used to be the collective farms,

0:46:400:46:42

do you think life was better in Soviet times?

0:46:420:46:46

So this is the bus stop that people here would need to wait at for quite

0:47:200:47:25

a long time, if they can't get treatment at that hospital,

0:47:250:47:30

if it was to close as per the government plan.

0:47:300:47:33

The next place for medical treatment is a city called Rzhev,

0:47:330:47:37

which is about an hour away.

0:47:370:47:39

And the buses here only run on the weekend.

0:47:410:47:43

Russia now likes to project an image of strength.

0:47:480:47:52

Because of its size, space programme, nuclear weapons,

0:47:520:47:56

its foreign conflicts, it is a global power.

0:47:560:47:58

But as I'd seen so often on my journey,

0:48:000:48:02

much of it is poor and underdeveloped,

0:48:020:48:05

and its wealth is in the hands of the few.

0:48:050:48:08

It's even more unequal than the United States or Britain.

0:48:080:48:11

Russia is the most unequal country of the world's major economies.

0:48:120:48:17

Sad, given the history of communism here and the attempt, at least at

0:48:180:48:22

some point, to achieve equality amongst the masses.

0:48:220:48:25

Not sure where the local budget for maintenance has gone here.

0:48:270:48:32

After 12 hours travelling towards St Petersburg,

0:48:420:48:45

the road was getting worse and worse.

0:48:450:48:48

Our driver said he was worried about his shock absorbers,

0:48:480:48:51

and he was going slower and slower.

0:48:510:48:53

Can we stop here?

0:48:540:48:56

I think I've been slightly defeated by its size,

0:49:030:49:05

like just about every other foreigner, outsider,

0:49:050:49:09

invader who has travelled through this part of the country.

0:49:090:49:12

You just can't appreciate the scale of it until you're here.

0:49:130:49:16

The roads here are pretty rubbish, frankly.

0:49:190:49:22

At some points, we're doing about 15mph.

0:49:220:49:24

Honestly, if you had to travel the length of time I have through this

0:49:260:49:30

glorious yet monotonous landscape, you'd get the train as well.

0:49:300:49:35

My journey across Russia had begun in the Far East.

0:49:510:49:54

Travelling more than 4,000 miles and across nine time zones,

0:49:570:50:01

I was arriving at my final destination on

0:50:010:50:03

the edge of the Baltic, St Petersburg.

0:50:030:50:06

Oh, my goodness, look at this place!

0:50:130:50:15

St Petersburg was built 300 years ago by Peter the Great

0:50:220:50:26

as the Venice of the North.

0:50:260:50:28

He wanted to change the image of Russia from a land of backward

0:50:280:50:32

peasants to a modern civilised nation.

0:50:320:50:34

St Petersburg was designed to impress.

0:50:400:50:43

It was built to make Russia appear European.

0:50:440:50:47

Russia's current leader was born and raised here.

0:50:510:50:54

This grand building is rather key to the story of Vladimir Putin.

0:50:560:51:02

Young Vladimir came here to start practising judo.

0:51:040:51:08

What's also astonishing to me is just how incredibly talented so many

0:51:100:51:16

of his judo buddies must have been, because so many of them now

0:51:160:51:21

seem to be running this country or owning it.

0:51:210:51:24

Peter the Great wanted to transform the image of Russia.

0:51:270:51:31

So does Vladimir Putin.

0:51:310:51:32

One of his priorities has been changing the caricature of

0:51:340:51:37

Russian men as unhealthy, smoking drinkers.

0:51:370:51:40

The judo-loving President promotes and encourages a more muscular

0:51:400:51:44

vision, supporting mixed martial arts and even cage fighters.

0:51:440:51:47

I went to visit a local club.

0:51:480:51:50

THEY SPEAK IN RUSSIAN

0:52:020:52:05

I've got a bad feeling about what's going on here.

0:52:130:52:15

I...

0:52:180:52:19

I had a feeling trainer Eduard Cherbokov was lining me up

0:52:220:52:25

for ritual sacrifice.

0:52:250:52:27

Lamb, slaughter.

0:52:270:52:29

These two guys? They look very tough!

0:52:330:52:36

I'm nervous, actually.

0:52:590:53:01

I think I'm going to puke.

0:53:300:53:33

And they were gentle with me.

0:53:380:53:39

PUFFING AND PANTING

0:53:390:53:41

I think I might be sick.

0:53:420:53:44

Why are you doing this?

0:53:530:53:54

How key is faith to you and to what you're doing here?

0:54:000:54:03

PUFFING AND GRUNTING

0:54:080:54:11

Under Putin, the Russian Orthodox Church has been

0:54:280:54:32

completely rejuvenated.

0:54:320:54:33

The president would love this place.

0:54:330:54:36

These fighters are all tough, healthy and religious.

0:54:360:54:40

For many here, being Orthodox is about faith,

0:54:400:54:43

but it's also about a patriotic identity.

0:54:430:54:46

Grigori Guyvoronsky helps lead this club.

0:54:470:54:50

The number of churches, the number of temples are growing,

0:54:510:54:54

it's growing,

0:54:540:54:56

and we have more and more churches in Russia.

0:54:560:54:59

Actually, more and more people come to church.

0:54:590:55:01

They come back to our tradition,

0:55:010:55:04

to our faith, the faith of our grandfathers and our fathers,

0:55:040:55:08

you know? Historically, Russia is supposed to be a Christian country.

0:55:080:55:12

It was created as a Christian state.

0:55:120:55:16

You're conservative Orthodox.

0:55:160:55:19

So you think traditional values are important?

0:55:190:55:22

-Yes.

-What's your view on, I don't know, gay marriage for example?

0:55:220:55:27

-It's negative.

-Right.

0:55:270:55:29

Cos we believe in God, and God says it's a sin.

0:55:290:55:32

How strongly do you believe that?

0:55:320:55:35

I don't agree that it's normal.

0:55:350:55:37

-Right.

-In Europe, people try to say that it's normal and

0:55:370:55:39

everybody has a right to do this.

0:55:390:55:42

We just say it's not normal.

0:55:420:55:44

It's wrong, that's how we say it.

0:55:440:55:48

Orthodox views are on the rise here.

0:55:480:55:51

Encouraged by the president and the newly powerful Orthodox Church,

0:55:510:55:55

many Russians appear to be turning their backs

0:55:550:55:57

on modern Western values.

0:55:570:55:59

Many here support Putin's core ideology,

0:56:020:56:06

which is nationalism accompanied by anti-Westernism.

0:56:060:56:08

It harks back to the past.

0:56:100:56:12

This is a very fitting place for me to end my journey.

0:56:120:56:16

This is the Hermitage Museum, but it was the Winter Palace,

0:56:160:56:21

an official residence of the tsars for nearly 200 years.

0:56:210:56:26

It was stormed during the Russian Revolution,

0:56:270:56:29

and that was a defining moment in the Communist takeover

0:56:290:56:33

of this vast country.

0:56:330:56:35

In Russia's most famous museum,

0:56:370:56:40

I was expecting a major exhibition marking the centenary of

0:56:400:56:43

the Revolution. To my surprise, it was hardly registered.

0:56:430:56:48

Oh, that's interesting! Look. So there should be...

0:56:480:56:50

Normally, there's a portrait of Nicholas II hanging here,

0:56:500:56:54

but it's currently displayed at a temporary exhibition,

0:56:540:56:57

Romanovs And Revolution: The End Of Monarchy,

0:56:570:57:00

that's happening in Amsterdam.

0:57:000:57:03

The government here can't quite seem to decide how to mark the centenary

0:57:050:57:09

of the Revolution, this huge event.

0:57:090:57:12

They don't really want to commemorate it, perhaps because

0:57:120:57:16

Tsar Nicholas II was a weak leader,

0:57:160:57:19

and President Putin does not like weak leaders.

0:57:190:57:22

But they don't really want to celebrate it either,

0:57:220:57:25

because President Putin certainly

0:57:250:57:27

doesn't want to encourage any more revolution.

0:57:270:57:30

The Russians might not be sure how to mark it,

0:57:310:57:34

but the Revolution remains one of the landmarks of modern history -

0:57:340:57:38

a shattering event that transformed and then shaped our entire world,

0:57:380:57:42

even if sometimes, in at least one way,

0:57:420:57:45

it can seem little has changed here.

0:57:450:57:47

I think the saddest realisation for me on this journey was that,

0:57:470:57:51

100 years on from the Revolution that was supposed to

0:57:510:57:54

change everything, there's an all-powerful tsar back in charge

0:57:540:57:57

at the top.

0:57:570:57:59

I'd loved almost every moment of my epic journey across Russia.

0:58:020:58:06

From the frozen wilderness of Kamchatka on the shores of

0:58:060:58:09

the Pacific to here at the edge of the Baltic,

0:58:090:58:12

I'd travelled this vast country in wonder and been awed.

0:58:120:58:16

This journey has really shown me the stunning diversity of a country and

0:58:170:58:22

a people I really didn't know.

0:58:220:58:24

Russians have a cold, tough reputation, but time and again,

0:58:240:58:27

I've seen that, once you break their hard outer shell,

0:58:270:58:31

there is warmth and there is welcome.

0:58:310:58:33

I have to hope for an end to the current animosity between Russia and

0:58:330:58:37

the West, for better relations between us and them.

0:58:370:58:41

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