The Big Steal

The Big Steal

The Big Steal tells the story of Vladimir Putin and his violent assault on human dignity, rule of law, democracy and truth – in Russia, its neighbours and across the West. A former KGB officer, Putin climbed his way to the presidency of the world’s largest nation, and put in place a mafia state that steals from its own people to cause havoc abroad. When he stole the country’s most successful energy company, Yukos, he gave a clear warning of what was to come. Since then, Western enablers in politics, business and the law have helped Putin on his way. Gavin Esler speaks to the people who have challenged Putin, tried to understand him, or simply hoped to survive. He takes us through to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a new and dangerous world that is opening up, and asks the question: where do we go next? Produced by Fresh Air Production

Episodes

March 2, 2022 38 mins

In the early hours of 24 February 2022, Russia launched a brutal invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine. True to his yearslong strategy of lies and disinformation, Vladimir Putin said he had launched a “special miliary operation” to “denazify Ukraine”. “It is not our plan to occupy the Ukrainian territory,” said Putin.

Ukraine is now under siege, bombarded from all sides. Cruise missiles and cluster ...

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With tensions continuing to grow between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and NATO, is President Putin’s endgame finally coming into view? A massive military build-up on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine suggests an invasion is likely, but what would the ramifications for the surrounding region, and the wider international community be? If Russia invades Ukraine is a war that spills out of the region inevitable? And meanwhil...

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November 23, 2021 33 mins

The Kremlin’s lies can be seen almost everywhere across the globe  and show no signs of abating.

In fact world leaders are even adopting Putin’s tactics as a new breed of autocracy is on the horizon.

So what can be done to stop the erosion of democracy and ensure that voting remains the great equaliser in polarized societies around the world?

Gavin Esler explores the worldwide rise of an “authoritarian mindse...

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November 1, 2021 47 mins

In this episode Gavin Esler explores the theft of democracy itself in Russia. President Putin holds elections regularly, but for what reason, considering that his ruling party always wins?

In recent years, youngsters have taken to the streets to demonstrate their disapproval of their lack of rights. Most famously, Olga Misik was arrested by Russian riot police for reading the section of the Russian constitution that states she is a...

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October 18, 2021 44 mins

The Big Steal returns with a new series exploring Russia's continuing journey towards an autocratic kleptocracy. 

Whilst the world has been gripped by a global pandemic, President Putin has maintained his grip on power at home by clamping down on anyone who disagrees with him. 

The leader of his main opposition, Alexei Navalny, has been poisoned and remains in prison. This is what becomes of someone who attempts stands up...

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Gavin Esler brings us news of the upcoming Series 2 of The Big Steal. A new 3-part series coming later this month.

Plus - a sample of 'Taking Apart Terror' - a new podcast series from the same production team exploring the world of international terrorism. How do terrorist organisations work, how are they financed, and how are we fighting them?

And the Taliban's recent takeover in Afghanistan make the world a more dangerous place? ...

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April 27, 2020 37 mins

Gavin Esler talks to experts on Russia and its complicated political and economic landscape, to attempt to pull all the threads together and answer some of the questions that run through "the Big Steal".

Gavin asks Vladimir Kara Murza how long Putin’s grip on power could last now he has effectively fixed things so he could be in power for as long as he lives. Can anything or anyone stop him? He asks Anne Applebaum if Russia w...

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April 16, 2020 37 mins

What comes next? There are clear indications that Putin was behind meddling in the US election of 2016, and convincing arguments to suggest that he tested his tactics on the UK’s Brexit referendum earlier that same year. The Putin regime aims to sow chaos around the world, making the West look just as much a basket case as Russia.

But after 20 years, could Putin’s grasp on power be coming to an end? Or will he find a wa...

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April 6, 2020 48 mins

A world of misinformation, disinformation, falsehoods, propaganda - the normalisation of lies. This episode focuses on the weapons used by the Putin regime to create chaos around the world. Charges raised against Russia include meddling in elections, cyberwarfare, international aggression, carrying out murders on foreign soil, and bombarding us with fake news.

So what can be done about it? Maybe the only real solution is to wait fo...

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March 30, 2020 21 mins

To understand Russia’s journey from Communism to kleptocracy in a generation, the best approach is to follow the money.

At the heart of the story is something called ‘Reiderstvo’. This is defined as the illicit acquisition of a business or part of a business in Russia. It’s similar to asset grabbing but whilst in 1990s Russia criminal gangs would use violence to steal what they could and bribe some officials...

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March 23, 2020 33 mins

In December 2013, Mikhail Khodorkovsky is pardoned by Putin for humanitarian reasons: his mother is sick. But whilst Khodorkovsky is released, others still remain in jail, or even worse, have been killed, by the Putin regime.

In this episode we explore some of those victims of Putin’s corruption. Yukos employees such as Vasiliy Aleksanyan who have died as a result of their incarceration, and the longest serving political pris...

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March 16, 2020 20 mins

Eight months after his arrest Mikhail Khodorkovsky is put on trial in a Moscow courtroom. It’s a show trial: Khodorkovsky is put in a cage; TV pictures are beamed all over the world, as if to set an example to other rich businessmen in Russia.

Very quickly other rich oligarchs realise that Putin could come for them next and so they make deals with him, giving him 50% ownership of their companies, according to former businessm...

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March 9, 2020 22 mins

By 2003 Yukos was a success story, but Putin’s premiership was not going so well. He’d failed to deal competently with the Kursk submarine disaster, and then the Moscow Theatre siege ended in a bloodbath.

Putin decides that he needs to stamp his authority and does so buy summoning the most powerful businessmen – the oligarchs – to a meeting and tells them he’ll stay out of their business if they stay o...

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March 2, 2020 20 mins

The Cold War is over and 70 years of Communist rule is flushed away. In Soviet Russia, capitalists risked being shot, but with Communism gone, Mikhail Khodorkovsky started a small bank, Menatep, before rising to run one of the world’s most profitable energy businesses: Yukos.

But the success of Khodorkovsky does not go unnoticed by Putin. Whilst Yukos is the biggest tax payer in the New Russia, Vladimir Putin has his eye on t...

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March 2, 2020 22 mins

In post-Soviet Russia, two men are rising through the ranks, but they are following different trajectories. One is a businessman: Mikhail Khodorkovsky is an entrepreneur, seizing opportunities as Russia looks likely to move towards a western style economy. Mikhail Khodorkovsky soon became the richest man in Russia.

The other is a KGB officer, stationed in Dresden when the Berlin wall fell: Vladimir Putin went on to be head of the F...

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