Putin to Talk About Most Dramatic Moments of His 15 Years in Power

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Rossiya-1 TV channel will air a documentary dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Vladimir Putin's accession to the presidency on April 26.

The film titled "The President" will be aired at 9:30 p.m. (18:30 GMT.)

The documentary is based on an interview by Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov with Putin and focuses on landmark events in Russia's modern history over the past 15 years.

According to trailers released ahead of the April 26 premiere, the film will give insights on Russia's policies starting from late 1990s — early 2000s, when Putin became president for the first time, up to recent events including the situation in Ukraine. The film will also give a touch of what the the president has personally gone through during the 15 years.

Vladimir Solovyov, who is the author of the film, revealed some details about the upcoming documentary on Thursday.

The TV host said he had an almost two-hour-long conversation with the Russian leader about milestone events in Russia's most recent history, including the Chechen campaign, the terror attacks in Moscow and Beslan in the early 2000s and the Kursk submarine disaster in August 2000.

"The team [of film producers] managed to find a crazy amount of archived shootings, which were forgotten by many. When 15-year history flashes right before your eyes, it arouses such strong emotions. The country went through terrible disasters: wars, terrorist attacks, Kursk — enough for the entire generation."

Solovyov added that the film will not be based entirely on the the interview with the president, but will also include rare documentary footage and remarks by other Russian politicians, making their first public comments on some events.

Vladimir Putin served as Russia's Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000. On December 31, 1999, he became acting president after his predecessor Boris Yeltsin resigned unexpectedly. Putin won the subsequent 2000 presidential election and served as Russian president from 2000 to 2008. After serving as prime minister from 2008 to 2012, he was re-elected to the presidency in 2012.

The Russian president has repeatedly topped international rankings of the world's most important people. In 2007 Time named Putin its Person of the Year. In 2013 and 2014 the Russian president led Forbes magazine's list of the most powerful people in the world. In 2015, Time included Putin in its annual list of the world's 100 most influential people.