The events of the film begin on 31 December 1999 when Russia was acquainted with its new President Vladimir Putin. The film is based on unique and strictly documentary testimonies of the true causes and consequences of the operation “Successor”, as a result of which Russia ended up with the President who still rules the country. The protagonists of the film are Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, and the Russian nation, as always being a silent witness of its own destiny.
To overcome a grave and far-advanced illness it is necessary to make a diagnosis and to study the history of this illness. That was my logic when I conceived a film about the events, which followed the unexpected resignation of Russia’s president Boris Yeltsin and the start of "Operation Successor". I was witness to and participant of this operation, which brought Vladimir Putin to the Moscow throne. My testimony is very important not only for the Russian society – to cure it from an advanced disease, but also for other countries – to prevent them from losing their freedom.
Biography
Vitaly Mansky was born in 1963 in Lviv /Ukraine, USSR. He graduated from VGIK — All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography in 1989 and became one of the most prominent contemporary Russian documentary filmmakers and producers. He has shot more than 30 films as a director which were screened at festivals world-wide and were awarded several times. As a producer, Vitaly produced films with directors like Renata Litvinova, Alexander Rastorguyev, Sergey Miroshnichenko, Dmitry Zhelkovsky, and Sergei Loznitsa. In 1996, he launched a project that aims to archive amateur private video files that were shot in the times of the former USSR (from the 30s till the 90s). Vitaly Mansky is the producer of the national Laurel Leaf award for the best Russian documentary films. He is also the founder and president of Artdocfest — Russian Open Documentary Film Festival for Russian-language creative documentaries. Since 2014 Vitaly Mansky lives and works in Latvia.
Filmography: 2018 PUTIN’S WITNESSES 2016 CLOSE RELATIONS 2015 UNDER THE SUN 2014 THE BOOK 2013 PIPELINE 2011 MOTHERLAND OR DEATH 2009 NIKOLINA GORA. EPILOGUE 2008 VIRGINITY 2008 DAWN / SUNSET. DALAI LAMA 14 2006 WILD, WILD BEACH 2005 GAGARIN’S PIONEERS 2003 ANATOMY OF T.A.T.U. 2002 BROADWAY. BLACK SEA 2001 TRILOGY ‘RED TSARS. PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA’: GORBATCHEV. AFTER THE EMPIRE YELTSIN. ANOTHER LIFE PUTIN. LEAP YEAR 1999 PRIVATE CHRONICLES. MONOLOGUE 1995 BLISS 1993 CUTS OF A RECURRENT WAR 1991 LENIN’S BODY 1990-1995 ETUDE ABOUT LOVE 1990 POST 1988 BOOMERANG
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