DOCUMENTARY
BBC1, 9pm Vladimir Putin has ruled the largest country on Earth for 18 years and has just stormed to victory in yet another election.
He is so loved by russians it’s tantamount to hero worship, says david dimbleby in this documentary. meanwhile in the west, Putin is seen as a threat and British intelligence calls him a “criminal thug”.
as thousands of football fans pour into russia for the World Cup, dimbleby is there to ask what kind of country are they coming to. as he sifts through tourist memorabilia, adorned with Putin’s image (some with his top off and wearing sunglasses), it seems the leader is more a superstar than a politician.
dimbleby asks: “How has he managed to stay in power for so long, and what do russians see in him that we don’t?”
Talking to supporters, protesters and even children learning to shoot guns in a patriotic youth club, this is an eye-opening look at a country so very different to ours.
SKY1, 9pm IF YOU ever came across a titanoboa, you might want to run in the other direction. It’s a snake the length of a bus, and therefore not to be messed with.
In this fascinating series, biologist Patrick Aryee checks out the biggest animals on the planet, and discovers why size really does matter in the natural world. Travelling to Asia, Australia, the Americas and Africa, he gets up close and personal with giant