Putin vs the West

Want to know more about the west's deteriorating relationships with Russia over the last decade? You could do worse than watching this documentary, which is rich with interviews with the major players on all sides. Of course, it's talking heads television, but the subject matter justifies the approach: these are the people who actually made the key decisions, and whilw of course they're all spinning, it's actually informative to see how each of them would like to be judged. At the end of the day, bad things happen when a still-powerful party cannot come to terms with their own diminishing importance; western governments have many failings, but the most obvious direct challenge they pose to Russia is one of status. The series ends with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a challenge to which we still have no certain response.

The form is nice and all, but the whole documentary lacks depth.

The event descriptions are shallow and commentary by current and formal politicians are occasionally reminding the view that they are covering their asses because of the multiple failures during the last 15 years or so.

Each event described in 10 minutes in the documentary could have its own 3 hour part and I think it would still lack the depth required to paint the whole picture.

If you want to get information about the motivation or any insight to political environment of Russia, you'll be surely disappointed. Only good thing seems that it is not just one sided propaganda.