3. The TV Show

What if the truth behind the bombs could be revealed - on a television show?

Following the events at Ryazan, journalists at Russia’s major television channel NTV prepare for a primetime broadcast: a confrontation between the residents of the building where the sacks of powder were found and the FSB officials who insist it was nothing more than a training exercise. With the Russian presidential election just days away, the TV show becomes a gamble that could cost NTV far more than its ratings. In this episode, Helena speaks to Yevgeny Kiselyov, one of Russia’s most influential political journalists and the man who brought the show to the air.

In Season 1 of The History Bureau, presenter Helena Merriman returns to one of the most contested - and consequential - stories in modern Russia. In September 1999, just weeks after Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia. The bombs exploded in the middle of the night, killing hundreds of people while they slept. In this season, Merriman returns to the story with the reporters who were there on the ground. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss?

Presenter: Helena Merriman
Series Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
Executive Editor: Annie Brown