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What Does Putin Want?

.As Russia prepares to elect Vladimir Putin for another six year term, what does he want?

Major Western powers are united in their conclusion. Russia, they say, carried out the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since World War Two. The attack happened in the English city of Salisbury, where former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. This Sunday, the Russian people are expected to elect Mr Putin for a fourth consecutive term. So as Russia and the West begin a new diplomatic showdown, what does President Putin want to achieve - for himself, for Russia, and abroad?

(Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin sunbathes during his vacation in the remote Tuva region in southern Siberia by Alexey Nikolsky/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

50 minutes

Last on

Sat 17 Mar 201812:06GMT

Contributors

Arkady Ostrovsky - Russia editor for The Economist

Mary Dejevsky - Former Moscow correspondent for the Times

Yevgenia Albats - Editor in chief of The New Times

Vladimir Pozner - Russian journalist

Also featuring:

Valentina Levina - Putin supporter

Konstantin Andriotis - Opposition activist

Broadcasts

  • Fri 16 Mar 201800:06GMT
  • Fri 16 Mar 201809:06GMT
  • Fri 16 Mar 201818:06GMT
  • Fri 16 Mar 201823:06GMT
  • Sat 17 Mar 201804:06GMT
  • Sat 17 Mar 201812:06GMT

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