Paul Mitchell

Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who forged the German Empire “with iron and blood,” once said that wars are won not by generals, but by teachers and priests. Following a similar logic, Russian President Vladimir Putin established Yunarmiya in 2016 — a nationwide system of military training for children aged eight to seventeen. This film offers an inside look at the lives and upbringing of the Yunarmiya cadets in the city of Vologda.

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Despite the huge risks, two Russian film-makers have been filming the impact of the invasion of Ukraine in their country. Many thousands have fled. Those that have stayed have had to make a choice – oppose the war, support it, or stay silent.

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In 1971, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE ceased to be part of Britain’s empire in the Middle East and became fully independent states. BBC News Persia and BBC Arabic collaborate in this gripping film, to uncover the secrets and shady deals that underpinned the decolonization process. From eye-witness accounts of a British-organised coup to Iran being left in control of disputed islands, it's a fascinating insight to a murky history.

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For millions, the election of Barack Obama marked a new era of hope. This four-part series tells the story of how he tried to reshape America as told by his inner circle - and the president himself.

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Who is the new Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or Gogol waiting to be discovered by the English-speaking world? Hosted by actor, author, and activist Stephen Fry, focuses on six authors whose vibrant, idiosyncratic work continues to gain traction with a global audience: Dmitry Bykov, Mariam Petrosyan, Zakhar Prilepin, Anna Starobinets, Vladimir Sorokin, and Lyudmila Ultiskaya. With contributions from their literary critics, publishers, and peers, the film features extensive interviews with each author.

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Vladimir Putin reemerges after eight years as President and another four years as Prime Minister of The Federation of Russia

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Putin, Russia and the West is a four-part British documentary television series first shown in January and February 2012 on BBC Two about the relationship between Vladimir Putin's Russia and the West. The series is produced by Norma Percy, whose previous series include The Death of Yugoslavia, Israel and the Arabs: Elusive Peace, and Iran and the West. The documentary was criticized by some dissidents for being an apology for Putin's regime.

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Spetsnaz is the Russian for Special Forces. In this series this highly secretive organisation will be laid bare. Since the mid-seventies the unit has seen active service in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and the crime-ridden streets of Moscow. The films follows some of the different units on operations in Chechnya, Angola and Moscow, as well as their competitive selection process. This film delves inside the domestic counter-terrorism unit ALPHA GROUP, the KGB's foreign commando force, VYMPEL and the special police commandos, OMON. For the first time, our cameras record how new candidates to Spetsnaz units are put through their paces at Balashikha, the joint KGB/Interior Ministry training centre outside Moscow. We will get to know the men and women who aspire to make the transition from regular soldier / policeman to fully-fledged Spetsnaz.

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The Death of Yugoslavia is a BAFTA-award winning BBC documentary series first broadcast in 1995. It covers the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. It is notable in its combination of never-before-seen archive footage interspersed with interviews of most of the main players in the conflict, including Slobodan Milošević, the then President of Serbia. Norma Percy won the 1996 BAFTA TV Award for 'Best Factual Series' for the documentary. However, it has been argued that it presents a potentially slightly biased point-of-view; for instance during the trial of Milošević before the ICTY in The Hague, Judge Bonomy called the nature of much of the commentary "tendentious" (partisan).

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History of the political events and the wars which broke the former state of Yugoslavia into several nations and caused an international political and humanitarian crisis. Using interviews with all the major participants and archive footage of the events, the series impressively performed the double feat of making understandable something which had appeared intractable and of producing 'immediate' history.

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Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who forged the German Empire “with iron and blood,” once said that wars are won not by generals, but by teachers and priests. Following a similar logic, Russian President Vladimir Putin established Yunarmiya in 2016 — a nationwide system of military training for children aged eight to seventeen. This film offers an inside look at the lives and upbringing of the Yunarmiya cadets in the city of Vologda.

Open details →

In 1971, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE ceased to be part of Britain’s empire in the Middle East and became fully independent states. BBC News Persia and BBC Arabic collaborate in this gripping film, to uncover the secrets and shady deals that underpinned the decolonization process. From eye-witness accounts of a British-organised coup to Iran being left in control of disputed islands, it's a fascinating insight to a murky history.

Open details →

How Vladimir Putin has used his experience as a spy to create and lead modern Russia: arrogance, anger and betrayal; military interventions, cyber-attacks and political assassinations.

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For millions, the election of Barack Obama marked a new era of hope. This four-part series tells the story of how he tried to reshape America as told by his inner circle - and the president himself.

Open details →

Who is the new Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, or Gogol waiting to be discovered by the English-speaking world? Hosted by actor, author, and activist Stephen Fry, focuses on six authors whose vibrant, idiosyncratic work continues to gain traction with a global audience: Dmitry Bykov, Mariam Petrosyan, Zakhar Prilepin, Anna Starobinets, Vladimir Sorokin, and Lyudmila Ultiskaya. With contributions from their literary critics, publishers, and peers, the film features extensive interviews with each author.

Open details →