The Best Russia Documentaries

World Affairs & Investigations - 119 free documentaries about russia.

Start with Slovakia divided - Between Russia and Europe (29 min, DW Documentary), then Latvia's Russian minority (28 min, DW Documentary). All 119 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on russia is Putin's People by Catherine Belton.

• Slovakia divided - Between Russia and Europe (29 min, DW Documentary)
• Latvia's Russian minority (28 min, DW Documentary)
• The Russians – An intimate journey through Russia (1/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Putin's foreign fighters - How Russia is recruiting foreign nationals for the war (29 min, DW Documentary)
• Russia's energy empire: Putin and the rise of Gazprom (51 min, DW Documentary)
• The Russian military operation in Syria (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Russia's political prisoners - Voices that defy the Kremlin (92 min, DW Documentary)
• Switzerland: A haven for Russian money? (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Serbia, Russia and the war in Ukraine (28 min, DW Documentary)
• Putin's Reign Of Terror: How A Lowly KGB Agent Took Over Russia | The New Tsar (60 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• The Industrial Might Of Wartime Soviet Russian (44 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Kamchatka: Exploring Russia's "Forbidden Zone" (50 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Russians Flock To Thailand After War In Ukraine: Are They Welcome? | Insight (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Transnistria: Caught between Russia and the EU (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Putin’s fleet - Russian espionage in the Baltic Sea (28 min, DW Documentary)
• Secret underworlds of the Soviet Union: Georgia (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Russia's Gazprom - Corrupt politicians and the greed of the west (51 min, DW Documentary)
• The Russians – An intimate journey through Russia (2/2) (42 min, DW Documentary)
• Big Underground System: Moscow Metro | Giant Hubs | Episode 6 (48 min, Free Documentary)
• Hunting the Russian Oligarchs | Inside the Billion-Euro Hunt (63 min, Moconomy)
• British Warship Tracks Russian Submarine Amid Turbulent Relations | Life At Sea Season 3 Episode 2 (45 min, Spark)
• Toppling Soviet statues - How should history be remembered? (28 min, DW Documentary)
• Kaliningrad: Russia’s Most Dangerous Outpost in the Heart of Europe (55 min, ENDEVR)
• Rise and Fall of Putin's Oligarchs | Inside the Russian Elite (43 min, ENDEVR)
• World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia | Stories from the Hidden Worlds (48 min, Free Documentary)
• The Desperate Hunt To Locate A Missing Russian Submarine | Life At Sea Season 3 Episode 3 (45 min, Spark)
• The Sanction-Fueled Destruction of the Russian Aviation Industry (22 min, Wendover Productions)
• Life With Siberian Nomads (51 min, Real Stories)
• Inside Kremlin: The Years That Led To The Fall Of The Soviet Union | Heart Of The Kremlin (50 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Meet the 'Black Diggers:' The Russians Robbing WW2 Graves (19 min, VICE)
• The Latin dance teacher directing Russia's sabotage in Europe (28 min, DW Documentary)
• How Russian drones target civilians in a small Ukrainian city (28 min, DW Documentary)
• Soviet Union: Rise & Fall of the Communist Empire (127 min, Free Documentary - History)
• The Soviet Union | Part 3: Revolution and Dissolution (44 min, Free Documentary - History)
• The Soviet Union | Part 2: Battle of Moscow to Cuban Missile Crisis (44 min, Free Documentary - History)
• Behind Putin & Russia's Wealthiest Elites (43 min, Real Stories)
• Extreme Russia: Gay & Under Attack (56 min, Real Stories)
• Operation Barbarossa: How Nazi Germany Almost Conquered Russia | Russian Front (48 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Russia and oil exports - How Putin circumvents sanctions (42 min, DW Documentary)
• How Russia's war against Ukraine is putting pressure on Russian-Germans (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Siberia: Gazprom, a pipeline and the last nomads (52 min, DW Documentary)
• Crisis, conflict and war - How NATO is preparing to resist (26 min, DW Documentary)
• World War II in Colour | Episode 8: The Soviet Steamroller (51 min, Free Documentary - History)
• Why The F-15 Terrified The Soviets (14 min, Mustard)
• The Engineering Behind Russia's Deadlocked Pipeline: Nord Stream 2 (12 min, Practical Engineering)
• Street Kids of Russia: Surviving Poverty After the Soviet Collapse (22 min, Real Stories)
• London's Wealthy Russian Elite: The Price of Luxury (59 min, Real Stories)
• What Was An Advanced Russian Warship Doing In The Irish Sea? | Life At Sea Season 3 Episode 5 (46 min, Spark)
• Suspicious Russian Naval Activity Detected In The North Atlantic | Life At Sea Season 3 Episode 4 (45 min, Spark)
• Inside Moscow’s Secret Vaults: The Truth Behind Russia's Most Haunting Artifacts (43 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Operation Barbarossa: War Against the USSR | Part 2: Moscow & Leningrad (44 min, Free Documentary - History)
• What Happened To Giant Ekranoplans? (11 min, Mustard)
• The WW2 Towers That Defeated the Soviets (9 min, Real Engineering)
• How Russia Stopped The Blitzkrieg (14 min, Real Engineering)
• End of a Superpower - The Collapse of the Soviet Union (53 min, Free Documentary - History)
• The Station at the End of Russia | Vladivostok Station (52 min, Free Documentary)
• Coldest Place on Earth: Surviving Oymyakon, Siberia | A Day in the Life (179 min, Free Documentary)
• Most Dangerous Ways To School | Siberia, India & Burma (52 min, Free Documentary)
• The Strangest Aircraft Ever Built: The Soviet Union's VVA-14 (11 min, Mustard)
• The Soviet Propeller Plane That Flew Like a Jet (10 min, Mustard)
• Napoleon's Greatest Failure: A Winter Campaign In Russia (47 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Russia's Geography Problem (12 min, Wendover Productions)
• The Russian Front | Episode 1: Barbarossa - Hitler Turns East (48 min, Free Documentary - History)
• Meanwhile in Russia | Daily Life in Putin's Russia (42 min, Free Documentary)
• Did The Soviets Build A Better Space Shuttle? The Buran Story (11 min, Mustard)
• Russia's Forgotten Orphans (67 min, Real Stories)
• Putin's hidden war: the Russians fighting back (26 min, The Economist)
• The German Princess Who Staged A Coup D'état For The Russian Throne (49 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Living in Russia: Childhood (2/6) (24 min, DW Documentary)
• Russia's Most Dangerous Soldiers Carry No Guns | Cyber Mercenaries (87 min, ENDEVR)
• The Nenets People | Siberia: Life in One of the Coldest Places on Earth (48 min, Free Documentary)
• Most Dangerous Ways To School | SIBERIA & KYRGYZSTAN (51 min, Free Documentary)
• The Soviet Superplane That Rattled America (11 min, Real Engineering)
• Being LGBTQ+ in Putin's Russia (56 min, Real Stories)
• Central African Republic: Russia's Testing Ground (34 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Living in Russia: Old age (5/6) (26 min, DW Documentary)
• Living in Russia: Adulthood (4/6) (25 min, DW Documentary)
• Living in Russia: Birth (1/6) (22 min, DW Documentary)
• Inside Russia: How Putin Abuses Religion & Tradition To Oppress His People! (43 min, ENDEVR)
• The Russian Front | Episode 3: From Stalingrad to Kursk (47 min, Free Documentary - History)

Top-Rated Books About Russia

1. Putin's People by Catherine Belton - View on Amazon
2. Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev (4/5) - View on Amazon
3. The Future Is History by Masha Gessen - View on Amazon
4. Red Notice by Bill Browder (4.2/5) - View on Amazon
5. The Road to Unfreedom by Timothy Snyder - View on Amazon
6. A history of Russia by Nicholas Valentine Riasanovsky - View on Amazon