In the early hours of 24 February 2022, Russia launched a brutal invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. True to his yearslong strategy of lies and disinformation, Vladimir Putin said he had launched a “special miliary operation” to “denazify Ukrai

Russia On the Brink?

Dec 14th, 2021 51m 30s

With tensions continuing to grow between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and NATO, is President Putin’s endgame finally coming into view? A massive military build-up on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine suggests an invasion is likely, but wha

A New Breed Of Autocracy

Nov 24th, 2021 33m 14s

The Kremlin’s lies can be seen almost everywhere across the globe and show no signs of abating.In fact world leaders are even adopting Putin’s tactics as a new breed of autocracy is on the horizon.So what can be done to stop the erosion of d

Protests and Police Raids

Nov 2nd, 2021 47m 56s

In this episode Gavin Esler explores the theft of democracy itself in Russia. President Putin holds elections regularly, but for what reason, considering that his ruling party always wins?In recent years, youngsters have taken to the streets t

While You Were Shielding

Oct 18th, 2021 44m 53s

The Big Steal returns with a new series exploring Russia's continuing journey towards an autocratic kleptocracy. Whilst the world has been gripped by a global pandemic, President Putin has maintained his grip on power at home by clamping down

Trailer

SERIES 2 NEWS + 'Taking Apart Terror' Taster

Sep 10th, 2021 14m 27s

Gavin Esler brings us news of the upcoming Series 2 of The Big Steal. A new 3-part series coming later this month.Plus - a sample of 'Taking Apart Terror' - a new podcast series from the same production team exploring the world of internationa

The Big Steal – Epilogue

Apr 28th, 2020 37m 27s

Gavin Esler talks to experts on Russia and its complicated political and economic landscape, to attempt to pull all the threads together and answer some of the questions that run through "the Big Steal".Gavin asks Vladimir Kara Murza how long

What comes after Putin?

Apr 17th, 2020 37m 14s

What comes next? There are clear indications that Putin was behind meddling in the US election of 2016, and convincing arguments to suggest that he tested his tactics on the UK’s Brexit referendum earlier that same year. The Putin regime aims t

Russia's War Against Truth

Apr 7th, 2020 48m 24s

A world of misinformation, disinformation, falsehoods, propaganda - the normalisation of lies. This episode focuses on the weapons used by the Putin regime to create chaos around the world. Charges raised against Russia include meddling in elec

Follow the Money

Mar 31st, 2020 21m 12s

To understand Russia’s journey from Communism to kleptocracy in a generation, the best approach is to follow the money.At the heart of the story is something called ‘Reiderstvo’. This is defined as the illicit acquisition of a business or part

The American who made Putin Furious

Mar 24th, 2020 33m 48s

In December 2013, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is pardoned by Putin for humanitarian reasons: his mother is sick. But whilst Khodorkovsky is released, others still remain in jail, or even worse, have been killed, by the Putin regime.In this episode we

The Man in the Cage

Mar 17th, 2020 20m 21s

Eight months after his arrest Mikhail Khodorkovsky is put on trial in a Moscow courtroom. It’s a show trial: Khodorkovsky is put in a cage; TV pictures are beamed all over the world, as if to set an example to other rich businessmen in Russia.

The Man Who Challenged Putin

Mar 10th, 2020 22m 54s

By 2003 Yukos was a success story, but Putin’s premiership was not going so well. He’d failed to deal competently with the Kursk submarine disaster, and then the Moscow Theatre siege ended in a bloodbath.Putin decides that he needs to stamp hi

From Communism to Kleptocracy

Mar 3rd, 2020 20m 50s

The Cold War is over and 70 years of Communist rule is flushed away. In Soviet Russia, capitalists risked being shot, but with Communism gone, Mikhail Khodorkovsky started a small bank, Menatep, before rising to run one of the world’s most prof

The Rivals

1 Mar 3rd, 2020 22m 12s

In post-Soviet Russia, two men are rising through the ranks, but they are following different trajectories. One is a businessman: Mikhail Khodorkovsky is an entrepreneur, seizing opportunities as Russia looks likely to move towards a western st