In late 2021, Vladimir Putin emerges from his Covid-19 bunker with an even smaller inner circle, increasingly outlandish demands of NATO and the west, and an immense military build-up on the border of Ukraine. How did seclusion change his mindset? And how did the west misunderstand him so badly?

To understand the Russian President and interpret his words and actions in those crucial weeks before the invasion, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Andrei Soldatov - Investigative journalist, specialist in Russia’s intelligence services, and author of ‘The Compatriots: The Russian Exiles Who Fought Against the Kremlin’
Sarah Rainsford - BBC Eastern Europe Correspondent and former Moscow Correspondent
Sir Laurie Bristow - Former British diplomat and UK Ambassador to Russia, 2016-2020.

Production coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Producer: Nathan Gower
Researcher: Octavia Woodward
Series Editor: Simon Watts