The Big Steal
By Fresh Air Production
The Big Steal tells the story of Vladimir Putin and his violent assault on human dignity, rule of law, democracy and truth – in Russia, its neighbours and across the West.
A former KGB officer, Putin climbed his way to the presidency of the world’s largest nation, and put in place a mafia state that steals from its own people to cause havoc abroad. When he stole the country’s most successful energy company, Yukos, he gave a clear warning of what was to come. Since then, Western enablers in politics, business and the law have helped Putin on his way.
Gavin Esler speaks to the people who have challenged Putin, tried to understand him, or simply hoped to survive. He takes us through to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a new and dangerous world that is opening up, and asks the question: where do we go next?
Produced by Fresh Air Production
Latest episode
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Russia Invades Ukraine
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 Ukraine”. “… -
Russia On the Brink?
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 what woul… -
A New Breed Of Autocracy
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 democ… -
Protests and Police Raids
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 to dem… -
While You Were Shielding
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 on an… -
SERIES 2 NEWS + 'Taking Apart Terror' Taster
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 international ter… -
9. The Big Steal – Epilogue
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 Putin… -
8. What comes after Putin?
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 to sow … -
7. Russia's War Against Truth
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 elections,… -
6. Follow the Money
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 of a…
