Frontline Putin's Road to War (Season 40, Episode 2)
TV-PG
TV Episode | 53 min | Documentary, News

Frontline

Putin's Road to War (Season 40, Episode 2)

TV-PG

TV Episode | 53 min | Documentary, News

FRONTLINE tells the story of what led to Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine and examines the events that shaped the Russian leader, the grievances that drive him and how a growing conflict with the West exploded into war in Europe.

Director

Michael Kirk

Writers

Michael Kirk | Mike Wiser

Producers

Daffodil Altan | Daniel Edge | Vanessa Fica | Erika Howard | Michael Kirk

Cinematographer

Ben McCoy

Editors

Miles Alvord | Steve Audette | Elliott Choi | Joey Mullin | Brenna Verre

See all filmmakers & crew (53)

Edit Released

Updated Mar 15, 2022

Release date

Mar 15, 2022 (United States)

Awards

Series awards

126 wins & 195 nominations

Contacts

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Cast	+ Add Cast
40 cast members

Name	Known for
Will Lyman Narrator (voice) Narrator (voice) See fewer	Mystic River (2003)
Vladimir Putin Self - Russian President (archive footage) Self - Russian President (archive footage) See fewer	The Putin Interviews (2017)
Susan Glasser Self - Co-Author, 'Kremlin Rising' Self - Co-Author, 'Kremlin Rising' See fewer	Im Wahn - Trump und die Amerikanische Katastrophe (2020)
Eugene Robinson Self - The Washington Post Self - The Washington Post See fewer	Rosenwald (2015)
Kori Schake Self - Director American Enterprise Institute Self - Director American Enterprise Institute See fewer	PBS News Hour (1975)
Julia Ioffe Self - Founding Partner Puck Media Self - Founding Partner Puck Media See fewer	This Is Not Normal
Daniel Fried Self - Fmr. U.S. Asst. Sec. of State Self - Fmr. U.S. Asst. Sec. of State See fewer	Ukraine: the Road to War (2023)
Sergey Naryshkin Self - Director Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (archive footage) Self - Director Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (archive footage) See fewer	Vremya (1968)
Yevgenia Albats Self - Russian Journalist Self - Russian Journalist See fewer	Zima, ukhodi! (2012)
Masha Gessen Self - Author, 'The Man Without a Face' Self - Author, 'The Man Without a Face' See fewer	Poka noch ne razluchit (2012)
Ronald Reagan Self - Fmr. US President (archive footage) Self - Fmr. US President (archive footage) See fewer	Kings Row (1942)
David E. Hoffman Self - Washington Post, Frontline Self - Washington Post, Frontline See fewer	The Billion Dollar Spy
John O. Brennan Self - Fmr. CIA Director Self - Fmr. CIA Director See fewer	The Dissident (2020)
George Bush Self (voice) (archive footage) Self (voice) (archive footage) See fewer	41 (II) (2012)
Peter Baker Self - Co-Author, 'Kremlin Rising' Self - Co-Author, 'Kremlin Rising' See fewer	Points West (1957)
Boris Yeltsin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Tagesschau (1952)
Vladimir Kara-Murza Self - Russian Opposition Politician Self - Russian Opposition Politician See fewer	Svidetel veka (2000)
Gleb Pavlovsky Self - Fmr. Putin Advisor Self - Fmr. Putin Advisor See fewer	The Case (2018)
Michael Crowley Self - Politico 2014-19 Self - Politico 2014-19 See fewer	1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (2008)
Bill Clinton Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Great Irish Potato Famine
Strobe Talbott Self - Fmr. US Dep. Sec. of State Self - Fmr. US Dep. Sec. of State See fewer	Neljäs tuoli (2006)
Jake Sullivan Self - US National Security Advisor Self - US National Security Advisor See fewer	Take No Prisoners (2025)
John Beyrle Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to Russian Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to Russian See fewer	Frontline (1983)
Stephen Hadley Self - Fmr. US National Security Advisor Self - Fmr. US National Security Advisor See fewer	The Iraq War (2013)
Victoria Nuland Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to NATO Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to NATO See fewer	PBS News Hour (1975)
Andrey Klimov Self - Russian Senator Self - Russian Senator See fewer	Vremya (1968)
Evan Osnos Self - The New Yorker Self - The New Yorker See fewer	Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid (2024)
Vladimir Ryzhkov Self - Russian Opposition Politician Self - Russian Opposition Politician See fewer	Legenda dlya opershi (2013)
Gennady Gudkov Self - Russian Opposition Politician Self - Russian Opposition Politician See fewer	Frontline (1983)
William J. Burns Self - Fmr. US Deputy Sec. of State Self - Fmr. US Deputy Sec. of State See fewer	Great Decisions (1986)
Steven Pifer Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to Ukraine Self - Fmr. US Ambassador to Ukraine See fewer	Active Measures (2018)
Daniel Baer Self - Fmr. U.S. Amb. to the OSCE Self - Fmr. U.S. Amb. to the OSCE See fewer	Frontline (1983)
Antony Blinken Self - US Sec. of State Self - US Sec. of State See fewer	The Addiction (1995)
Evelyn Farkas Self - Fmr. Dep. Asst. Sec. of Defense Self - Fmr. Dep. Asst. Sec. of Defense See fewer	CNN Newsroom (1989)
James Clapper Self - Fmr. US Director of Natl. Intelligence Self - Fmr. US Director of Natl. Intelligence See fewer	The Age of Disclosure (2025)
Andrei Soldatov Self - Co-Author, 'The Red Web' Self - Co-Author, 'The Red Web' See fewer	Generation of Change (2017)
Nikolay Petrov Self - Russian Political Scientist Self - Russian Political Scientist See fewer	Sobytiya (1997)
Donald Trump Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Apprentice (2004)
Greg Miller Self - The Washington Post Self - The Washington Post See fewer	Unmanned: America's Drone Wars (2013)
Alexei Navalny Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Navalny (2022)