False flags, brutal military tactics and aspirations of greatness – Putin’s approach to the war in Syria, as he tries to prove Russia is still a power-broker in the Middle East. To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:Professor Angela Stent of the Brookings Institution, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the US National Intelligence Council 
Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute 
Kevin Connolly, former BBC Moscow and Middle East correspondent.Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal and Joe Kent 
Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed
Sound engineer: Rod Farquhar
Series Editor: Emma Rippon
Commissioning Editor: Richard Knight.

8. The Splinter

To understand what Vladimir Putin might do in the future, you need to understand his past;  where he's come from, what he's lived through, what he's done. Jonny Dymond tells the extraordinary and revealing story of Vladimir Putin's life with the help of guests who have watched, studied and dealt with the Russian president.