THE POWER OF THE RUSSIAN SECRET SERVICE
Never in Russia’s history has the domestic intelligence service, the FSB, wielded such power. But how far does its grip on Russian society reach today? Four exiles reveal how their resistance turned them into targets.
In 2018, Pyotr Verzilov, a member of the Pussy Riot art collective, made international headlines when he stormed the pitch during the World Cup final together with Nika Nikulshina and other political activists. Weeks later, Verzilov was mysteriously poisoned and only just survived. Seventeen-year-old Kevin Lik was arrested in Sochi on charges of espionage after taking photos of a nearby military carpark from his bedroom window. Alexey Shmatko was a successful entrepreneur in the city of Penza – until he became the victim of “corporate raiding”. Backed by corrupt officials, the FSB sought to gain a share of his business. When Shmatko refused to cooperate, he was jailed on fabricated tax charges. Andrei Soldatov, perhaps the most important Russian investigative journalist of our time, knows the inner workings of the Russian secret service like no other. He and other experts, such as human rights lawyer Ivan Pavlov, shed light on the history and practices of the FSB and its significance for Vladimir Putin. The film reveals how deeply the FSB today has infiltrated everyday life in Russia and examines the methods it employs to maintain control.