Storyline

The acclaimed documentary series from 1991 that examined political in-fighting in the Soviet Union and the battle for perestroika.

First Aired

1991-05-31
Last Aired

1991-11-30
Creator
Genre

Documentary
Seasons

2
Episodes

8
Status

Ended
Language

English, Pусский
Network

BBC Two

Keywords:

politics post soviet union

Stream and watch The Second Russian Revolution

Season 1

Season 2

1. Enter Gorbachev

How Mikhail Gorbachev became president of the Soviet Union. Yuri Andropov, the dying Secretary General...More

How Mikhail Gorbachev became president of the Soviet Union. Yuri Andropov, the dying Secretary General, named Gorbachev as his successor, but the nomination was suppressed for two years by the conservatives.Less

49mins 1991-05-31

2. The Battle for Glasnost

Follows the attempted coup while Gorbachev was away in March 1988, at how the Kremlin tried to cover u...More

Follows the attempted coup while Gorbachev was away in March 1988, at how the Kremlin tried to cover up the Chernobyl disaster. Afterwards, glasnost flourished and Soviet society opened up.Less

49mins 1991-06-07

3. The Yeltsin File

How Boris Yeltsin rose to the top as a Soviet Communist Party official and how he came to fall out wit...More

How Boris Yeltsin rose to the top as a Soviet Communist Party official and how he came to fall out with Mikhail Gorbachev.Less

49mins 1991-06-14

4. Revolution from Below

The first Congress of People's Deputies was elected in 1989, but a new rebelliousness was soon unleash...More

The first Congress of People's Deputies was elected in 1989, but a new rebelliousness was soon unleashed. Soviet miners protested and, for the first time since Lenin, the State gave in.Less

49mins 1991-06-21

5. Breaking Ranks

At first nationalism in Lithuania, Armenia and elsewhere was encouraged, but the nationalists were dem...More

At first nationalism in Lithuania, Armenia and elsewhere was encouraged, but the nationalists were demanding independence. Gorbachev's aides reveal what he said to Ceausescu of Romania, Landsbergis of Lithuania and other leaders of communist-bloc countries of the time.Less

49mins 1991-06-28

6. End of the Beginning

Gorbachev visited London in 1991 to ask world leaders for aid, and they demanded that he move to an op...More

Gorbachev visited London in 1991 to ask world leaders for aid, and they demanded that he move to an open market economy. His plan to do so failed. The programme contains tapes of Gorbachev’s meetings with Deputies and interviews with Yeltsin and Shevardnadze.Less