Film archive
Putin's Witnesses Svideteli Putina
Vitalij Manskij / Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic / 2018 / 105 min
It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and Russia is about to undergo a historic transformation. President Boris Yeltsin, aging and weak, steps down and appoints a little-known figure, Vladimir Putin, to replace him. Celebrated filmmaker Vitaly Mansky was there to capture the transition. Now, for the first time ever, he dips into his archives for a rare glimpse at the young Putin and the vast political machine that brought him to power.