Putin: The New Tsar

Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution

The story of Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin over the 245 days that brought them to power. As the history unfolds, writers and historians deba...

Stalin: Inside the Terror

Documentary that uncovers the private and family life of the Soviet dictator. Using reconstructions, it also attempts to discover Stalin's motives ...

01: Comrades: 1917-1945 | Cold War

Both the United States and the Soviet Union drifted apart after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Paris Peace ...

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster | Surviving Disaster

In April 1986 a blast at a Soviet nuclear plant emits 400 times more radiation than the bomb at Hiroshima-the UN claims it ha...

S01E05: The Murder of the Romanovs | Days That Shook the World

This program examines events marking the beginning and end of communism in Eastern Europe, including the execu...

Bloody Sunday | Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia with Lucy Worsley

In 1905, 150,000 workers protested at the winter palace and after a year of revolution, Nicholas II ins...

Red Dawn | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Historian Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War. He looks at the first chilling years of the conflict, when the opposing ideologi...

The Looking Glass War | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War years, looking at the frontline of the conflict as consumerism was pitched aga...

S02E09: Cold War Spies: 1960 U-2 incident | Days That Shook the World

This program focuses on the shooting down of the US U-2 spy plane in 1960.

The Soviets: 01: The Fall of Tsarism | History File

This programme at fall of Tsarism.

Hitler, Stalin and Mr Jones | Storyville

An investigation into the mysterious death of Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, who revealed the starvation deaths of millions in 1930s...

Two Tribes | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

Dominic Sandbrook examines the Cold War years. In the 1970s and '80s, as the end of the world seemed a real possibility, everythi...

08: Sputnik: 1949-1961 | Cold War

As a consequence of the atomic spies, the Soviet Union joined the nuclear club, and the two superpowers compete to develop their nuclear ar...

21: Spies: 1944-1994 | Cold War

Throughout the Cold War both sides sought intelligence about their opponents using spies, satellites and other means. For political reasons, ...

Learning Zone | Strange Days: Cold War Britain

A version made specially for schools of the BBC Two history series on Britain and the Cold War. Presented by Dominic Sandbrook.

The Soviets: 02: Bolshevik Russia | History File

This programme looks at the Bolsheviks.

03: Smashing the Mould | The Art of Russia

Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the story of Russian art. He examines political revolution and how art was at the forefront of throwing ...

Growth of Stalin's terror | Stalin: Inside the Terror

After Lenin's death, Stalin seizes control of the funeral and uses the occasion to sideline Trotsky, consolidating his ...

Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics | Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics

Steve Cram recalls how the Moscow Olympics of 1980 came to symbolise the intensity of the Cold War.

The Soviet Union's Last Stand

Documentary telling the inside story of Communist hardliners' failed attempts to seize power from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, which res...