In September 1999, just weeks after a 46-year-old Vladimir Putin became Prime Minister, four bombs blew up four apartment buildings across Russia, killing hundreds of people while they slept. The attacks plunged the country into panic. Families fled their homes. Residents patrolled their blocks around the clock. An entire nation paralyzed by fear.

But who did it? It's a mystery that has fuelled some chilling theories.

The government blamed Chechen militants. Many reporters agreed. But then the whispers started. Was something even more sinister going on?

Over 25 years later, journalists who covered the bombings still can’t agree on who planted the explosives or why.

Presenter Helena Merriman returns to the story with the reporters who were there on the ground. What did they get right first time around? And, in the chaos and confusion of unfolding events, what did they miss?

Vladimir Putin survived the short lived revolt that saw thousands of mercenaries march towards Moscow, but at what cost?

Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Polina Ivanova: foreign correspondent for the Financial Times, covering Russia and Ukraine.

Production coordinator: Sophie Hill

Ukrainecast comes together with Putin, the BBC Sounds and Radio 4 podcast which examines the life, times, motives and modus operandi of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Returning to the show are three lifelong Kremlin-watchers to cast ahead and speculate on just how this war might develop.

In the final episode of the latest series of Putin, Jonny Dymond and three expert guests examine how the Russian president shaped the war in Ukraine between March and October 2022, and how the war has begun to shape him.

With Russia’s military position weakened by fierce Ukrainian counter-attacks, how much pressure is Vladimir Putin really under? Is there any way out for Putin, or might an increasingly difficult war proving his undoing?

Guests:

Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Editor

On the 24th of February 2022, after months of military build-up and increasingly grave warnings, Vladimir Putin stepped over the brink and ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

In this episode, Jonny Dymond tells the story of the crucial first month of the war, as Putin’s ambitions first faltered and then collapsed in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance. By examining his speeches, public appearances and the political context, this programme chronicles Putin’s first weeks as a war leader.

To dispel the fog of war and understand Putin’s role at this dramatic time, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Bridget Kendall - former BBC Moscow and Diplomatic Correspondent, now Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge.

In late 2021, Vladimir Putin emerges from his Covid-19 bunker with an even smaller inner circle, increasingly outlandish demands of NATO and the west, and an immense military build-up on the border of Ukraine. How did seclusion change his mindset? And how did the west misunderstand him so badly?

To understand the Russian President and interpret his words and actions in those crucial weeks before the invasion, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Andrei Soldatov - Investigative journalist, specialist in Russia’s intelligence services, and author of ‘The Compatriots: The Russian Exiles Who Fought Against the Kremlin’

In 2021 Vladimir Putin retreats to his bunker as the Covid-19 pandemic spreads through Russia. How did this isolation affect his thinking, and what role could it have played in his decision to invade Ukraine?

To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

President Putin tries to crush the leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny as Russians take to the streets in protest over pensions and local elections. And there are revelations about expensive watches and a secret and very opulent palace.

To understand how Vladimir Putin rules Russia Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Catherine Belton, author of ‘Putin’s People: How the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West'

Sergei Guriev, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po and co-author of 'Spin Dictators'

Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia Editor, BBC Monitoring

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

Master strategist or opportunistic gambler? Vladimir Putin styles himself as a judo master – an expert in spotting weakness in his opponents and then exploiting it. To figure out what we can learn from his attempts to call time on liberal democracy and Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, Jonny Dymond is joined by:

Henry Foy, European diplomatic correspondent for the Financial Times and a former Moscow bureau chief

Production coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

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

Producers: Caroline Bayley, Sandra Kanthal and Joe Kent