: Mansky highlights the "war room" staff from 2000, noting that most have since become political foes, fled the country, or died under suspicious circumstances .
: Features a poignant scene where Boris Yeltsin waits by the phone on election night for a call from his successor—a call that never comes .
: Shows a "younger, more agile" Putin who is surprisingly comfortable being directed on camera, even discussing his choice to reinstate the Soviet national anthem . Putin's Witnesses
The film is built on unique archive footage Mansky shot between 1999 and 2000 . At the time, he was the head of documentaries for Russian state television and was granted "unnervingly intimate" access to film a propaganda piece for Putin’s first campaign .
: Reveals how "heartwarming" scenes, like Putin visiting his former teacher, were carefully staged for public consumption . 🌍 Impact and Availability PUTIN'S WITNESSES (SVIDETELI PUTINA) - AFI FEST : Mansky highlights the "war room" staff from
: The title refers to both the public figures in the film—Yeltsin, Gorbachev, and Putin—and the director himself, who later came to view his own work as an act of complicity in creating Putin's image . 🔑 Key Themes & Scenes
( Svideteli Putina ) is a 2018 documentary by Vitaly Mansky that offers a rare, "insider-turned-outsider" look at Vladimir Putin’s rise to power . 📽️ The Core Concept The film is built on unique archive footage
: It documents the transition from Boris Yeltsin to Putin, starting with Yeltsin’s unexpected resignation on December 31, 1999 .