With the conflict unfolding in Ukraine over the past several weeks and months now coming to a head, the world has been waiting in tense anticipation for the potential outbreak of war in Europe. As Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened, postured and rattled his saber over Ukraine’s sovereignty, particularly the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine that he has declared Russian territory, many may be wondering what’s motivating the implacable, impenetrable former KGB agent and FSB head. Helpfully, there are ways to learn more about the recent history of Putin and Ukraine through a variety of documentaries available to stream.
Start with the 2018 documentary “Active Measures,” directed by Jack Bryan. The main focus of this rapid-fire, information-packed film is Putin’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and the cultivation of Donald Trump and the Trump family and associates as Russian assets, particularly through real estate money laundering for Russian organized crime. However, the first half of the documentary offers a primer on Putin’s tactics interfering in elections in Ukraine and Georgia, and the subsequent protest movements rejecting Putin’s influence, especially in Ukraine. The film also explains the significance of Ukraine specifically to Putin, and the devastation he feels over the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which has led to his aggressive actions in former Soviet states. Stream the film for free (with a library card) on Kanopy, or rent it on any digital platform.
Director Steve York’s 2007 documentary “Orange Revolution” is available to stream for free in its entirety on YouTube. It details the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine, in which Putin crony and former Donetsk governor Viktor Yanukovych faced off with the more liberal Viktor Yushchenko and his ally, Yulia Tymoshenko. Yushchenko was famously poisoned in an assassination attempt that took him off the campaign trail, and after Yanukovych was deemed the winner of a rigged election, Ukrainians took to the streets for 17 straight days in protest, ultimately overturning the results and installing Yushchenko as president.
Yanukovych later became president, succeeding Yushchenko in 2010 and defeating Prime Minister Tymoshenko in the election. In 2013, Yanukovych’s decision to ally with Russia and reject a European Union association agreement sparked yet another revolution in Ukraine: the bloody, monthslong protest movement and occupation of the central square in Kyiv, known as the “Euromaidan.” Though Yanukovych used violent suppressive tactics, including snipers, to target the protesters, he was ultimately removed by parliament and fled to Russia, where he remains in exile.
