wirthstefan Review of The Putin Interviews

The Putin Interviews (2017)

The multifaceted relations between the US and Russia

[8/10 · 14 June 2017]

Oliver Stone has faced a lot of criticism for his series of interviews with Putin, chief among them the accusation that he abstained from critical questions and only provided Putin with a platform to spread propaganda. This allegation may hold true to some effect but if you watch the series closely you will notice that besides some friendly banter, Stone also questions Putin about subjects such of the state of democracy in Russia, the rights of non-heterosexuals, freedom of religion, and other important topics. Stone could have been better prepared with regard to some questions or he sometimes missed the opportunity to counter some of Putin's arguments. After two episodes, I am interested to see if Stone will directly tangle with criticism towards Russia regarding the war in Ukraine or the annexation of the Crime. Despite Stone's neglect of some of the hallmarks of critical journalism, the real value of these series lies in showing US citizens and interested viewers around the world that according to Putin's view both superpowers should do everything to build on the existing international partnership to lower tensions regrading NATO or the US missile shield in Europe. The number of nuclear warheads on the US and Russian side alone and the potentially disastrous consequences, should give everyone pause and make him or her able to listen this central message of Stone's documentary. In my opinion, Stone is and always has been a US patriot but with the will to see both sides of the coin and the passion to promote a deeper, though sometimes not clearer, understanding of things. But for his effort to promote a new understanding of US-Russia relations, I will give him 8 out of 10, maybe a bit much but the world really needs to come together with regard to threats such as nuclear war and climate change. Putin reiterates the need for multilateral relations constantly and I want to believe that he is genuine in that regard.