Frontline will air a journalistic investigation of Vladimir Putin, Putin’s Way, on Tuesday, January 13 at 10pm on PBS. The show looks into claims of “criminality and corruption that have accented his reign” as Russia’s ruler. It will also take a closer look at some of the most identifiable aspects of Putin’s public persona – from shooting darts at whales to posing shirtless on horseback.
Putin’s Way delves into a biography that shows Vladimir as the only child of a poor family living in Saint Petersburg when it was known as Leningrad. He’s described as an unusual boy who at 16 went into a KGB office and asked to sign up. He was told to come back when he was older. Ten years later he did, armed with a law degree. Putin has always been upfront about wanting to be a spy. Even as Russia transitioned to a post-Soviet era, Putin made sure he was strongly identified by his KGB roots. Whatever Putin’s Way has to teach us about the man at the helm of the Kremlin, like most larger than life historical figures Putin will remain in many ways inscrutable.
