Maybe Putin wanted to fire Medvedev , but how is he supposed to do that after my film?

Putin has reversed all the liberalizing reforms carried out by his predecessor.

Putin and his advisers don't understand the power of public opinion in the West. They believe in conspiracy theories and that someone is orchestrating a malicious campaign against Russia. They don't realize that even conservative politicians have to react when newspapers and artists express their concern on such an issue.

Russia spends enormous, senseless amounts of money on the army and the police. We have one of the top rankings in the world when it comes to the number of police officers - but when it comes to the number of murders, we are also right at the top.

I'm not going to appeal to violence or aggression - of course not.

Maybe Putin wanted to fire Medvedev , but how is he supposed to do that after my film?

Putin needs to terrorize his own elite. He is more afraid of those in his own surroundings than any protests; there are people there who are at least as critical as I am because they see up close that the system doesn't work. He wants to silence them.