Borderland - E4/8 - Below the Surface

In this series Jelle Brandt Corstius explores the border countries between Russia and Europe, from Latvia to Moldavia, West and East Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. What is the picture that the Russians and their neighbours have of each other, how are the relationships between powerful Russia and the other former Soviet republics? And how do the surrounding countries treat their Russian inhabitants? A series about propaganda and identity.

Episode 4: Below the surface

We stay in Russia, to look at the news provision, which plays a crucial role in the Ukraine conflict. Russian journalists are being killed, there are hardly any independent media, self-censorship takes place on a large scale. But then what do the Russians watch? And how are they brainwashed? Jelle Brandt Corstius dives into the world of the First Channel, the Kremlin propaganda channel. Is it a Putin mouthpiece, as critics claim? Or are we, in the West, perhaps too one-sided as well?

© VPRO September 2015

This channel offers some of the best travel series from the Dutch broadcaster VPRO. Our series explore cultures from all over the world. VPRO storytellers have lived abroad for years with an open mind and endless curiosity, allowing them to become one with their new country. Thanks to these qualities, they are the perfect guides to let you experience a place and culture through the eyes of a local. Uncovering the soul of a country, through an intrinsic and honest connection, is what VPRO and its presenters do best.

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Director: Alexander Oey and Jelle Brandt Corstius
English, French and Spanish subtitles by Ericsson and co-funded by the European Union.