On this episode of Old Newscast, we look at how an unknown bureaucrat with a mysterious past unexpectedly rose to president of Russia.Adam is joined by the BBC’s Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg, and Russia reporter for The Washington Post and author, Catherine Belton.They discuss how chaos in Russia in the 1990s allowed Putin’s rise to power, Boris Yeltsin’s surprise resignation and why Putin refused to campaign.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Joe Wilkinson with Miranda Slade, and Kris Jalowiecki. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.