This is the story of the most powerful man you’ve never heard of.

He can spot an ex-spy with presidential potential and help turn him into a world leader. He creates opposition movements out of thin air. He’s got a nation’s news directors on speed dial. Billionaires seek his advice. He’s even got his own little war. He’s at the heart of the standoff between East and West. Some even credit him with pioneering the concept of post-truth politics. Yet few even know his name.

He is Vladislav Surkov. And in this episode, Gabriel Gatehouse charts his rise from small-town Russia to the heights of power in the Kremlin.