“Have you ever wondered when and how it all went wrong?” asks Maria Pevcits, a staunch friend of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, at the launch of his team’s latest film. By “everything” Maria Pevcic means the authoritarian rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the repressive measures against dissidents, the poverty of many Russians and the war against Ukraine.

“Traitor” is the title of the play, which concerns the tumultuous 1990s in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has already sparked a heated debate in the Russian opposition about its past. Maria Pevcic was the head of Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation and is best known for her revelations about the illicit enrichment of Putin’s friends and relatives.

However, the latest film is not so much about Putin himself as it is about all those who helped him take power. It has already been shown on YouTube with subtitles and has recorded millions of clicks. A third part will follow soon.

The thirst for power and money

“The Traitor” is an account of Russia’s first President Boris Yeltsin, who ruled from 1991 to 1999 and worked with wealthy oligarchs who amassed their wealth through dubious means.

Maria Pevcic details the careers of rich people like Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky. They bought in the great wave of privatization many state-owned enterprises, while many ordinary Russians gave their money to fraudsters and lost their capital. The play describes how the new financial elite, not only banks and controlled oil refineries but also major television stations, helped within a short period of time to get Yeltsin re-elected in 1996 and later Putin to enter the Kremlin.

Putin’s rule today is the result of this corrupt cabal, once built by Yeltsin’s predecessor, which shaped the country’s politics. Russia had a chance at democracy but the alcoholic Yeltsin and the other power and money hungry “traitors” missed it. “Today we see that they are leading the country into the abyss,” says Maria Pevcits.

Reactions but also mood for continuing the films

The basis for the film series was an essay entitled “My Fear and My Hate”, which Navalny wrote in prison in 2023 and probably reached the outside world through his lawyers. Yulia Navalnaya, who wants to continue her husband’s political work, promotes the series of films. But the videos contain explosive material even about people who later opposed the Kremlin chief.

But not everyone agrees with this harsh criticism. Political analyst Sergei Parkhomenko finds criticism of President Yeltsin unfair and points out that after decades of Soviet dictatorship he also brought new freedoms, reforms and democratization processes. Also many believe that there is no use in having another front inside the country in the middle of the war with Ukraine. Navalny’s team, however, says it is determined to proceed with the revelations and continue filming.