Putin had been preparing his country for the big war long before it started. A group of independent Russian journalists and activists face severe punishment and end up facing personal and political dilemmas in Askold Kurov’s couragous and critical film.

The extraordinary story of a man who risks everything to preserve freedom of speech in Russia. In December 2021 Dmitry Muratov is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the editor-in-chief of Russia’s only independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. Six of his journalists have been murdered, after their reports displeased the state. In February 2022 Russia invades Ukraine. In early March, using the cover of a documentary film festival, Muratov secretly negotiates free passage for forty journalists with the Latvian government. Then he returns to Moscow to look after his paper and its remaining staff. To this day, he refuses to leave Moscow, whatever the pressure on him and his team. "Putin stands for death. I stand for life."

This film is a unique historical document, a cast of the tragedy. This film is about the disaster that happened to Russia and filmed in real time. Chronicle of a diving country.

After twenty years in power, Vladimir Putin continues to implement his geopolitical strategy with Russia’s comeback on the big stage of world politics. He already announced his ambitions in 2007 – and still, it seems like the western governments were hit completely unprepared. What is behind this repeat of the Cold War?