Premieres Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App + Encore Thursday, July 13 at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2
It’s been described as the most serious threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership in years: the armed rebellion on June 23, led by the Russian mercenary Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Prigozhin and his troops ultimately stood down, but the mutiny raised new questions about whether Putin’s grip on power may be slipping amid discontent around his troubled war on Ukraine.
Now, in a special report, "Putin’s Crisis," FRONTLINE explores how the long-serving Russian leader reached this moment of uncertainty and what it could portend for the country, the region and the world.
“Enormous damage has been done to Putin's authority, to his image as somebody ruthlessly in control of all the levers of power in Russia. Putin has been revealed to be indecisive, to not be in control and to be vulnerable to future challenges like the one Prigozhin posed,” Kori Schake, a director at the American Enterprise Institute, tells FRONTLINE.
"Putin’s Crisis" is the newest documentary from Michael Kirk, Mike Wiser and Vanessa Fica, the acclaimed team behind "Putin and the Presidents" (2023), "Putin’s Road to War" (2022) and "Putin’s Revenge" (2017). Drawing on both new interviews and the team’s years of reporting on the Russian leader, the documentary tells the inside story of Putin’s rise, his clashes at home and abroad, and how his war on Ukraine led to unexpected new challenges to his power.
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“Even a failed coup can be dangerous. It reveals that the emperor has no clothes, right? It reveals that it is conceivable to stand against him. And if you are Putin, you are lookingaround that room and you are saying, ‘Which of these people has a knife in his belt? Which of these people might be thinking of moving on me next?’” says Peter Baker, New York Times journalist and co-author of "Kremlin Rising."
As the war on Ukraine continues and the world watches how Putin responds to Prigozhin’s challenge to his authority, Putin’s Crisis is an essential primer on how the Russian leader consolidated power over the years — and why that power has now come under threat.
Watch On Your Schedule:
"Putin’s Crisis" will be available to watch in full at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App starting July 11, 2023, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel at 9/8c.
Distributed internationally by PBS International.
