Helena Merriman

So really, by that point, he is president in all but name.

And so it's just a few months before the election.

He barely campaigns.

Again, he carries on his rides in fighter jets flying over Chechnya.

And he wins outright in the first ballot.

So the 26th of March 2000, Vladimir Putin is now president of Russia.

Yeah.

So what you then have is a number of very brave Russian journalists, parliamentarians who are desperate to get to the truth.

And in February 2002, there's a group of Russian parliamentarians who say, look, we need an official public inquiry into the bombs.

And there's a vote.

And hundreds of parliamentarians in the Russian Duma actually vote for it.

Only a few vote against.

But because it has to be unanimous, it fails.

So there's no independent commission?

Well, there's no parliamentary commission.

I see.

But there's an independent one.

So a few parliamentarians say, OK, well, if there can't be a parliamentary inquiry, we'll just do one ourselves.

And a bunch of them get together.

It's a bunch of politicians, journalists, lawyers, some grieving family members.