Russia with Simon Reeve

I am next to Lake Baikal - it's said to be the oldest,

deepest lake on planet Earth, and I'm starting the second leg

of my journey across Russia.

This is a lake that is the size of a sea.

It is utterly immense.

The average depth of the lake is nearly a mile deep.

Can you comprehend that?

This is 20%...

..of the fresh water on planet Earth.

This alone makes Russia a superpower.

I'm really excited about this leg of my journey.

It's going to take me an enormous distance across Russia.

From Lake Baikal in the depths of Siberia,

I'll be travelling thousands of miles across Russia to the far

south-west of the country and the majestic Caucasus Mountains.

100 years on from the Russian Revolution

that was supposed to overthrow tyranny,

I discover a country where many

are captivated by their powerful leader...

It's possible you might jump him.

..some have turned to the leadership of a higher power...

Are you a reincarnation of Jesus?

..and millions live lives blighted by alcohol and violence.

With Russia resurgent on the world stage,

I meet the feared warrior caste...

Like this?

..defending the nation's borders.

Oh!

It was spring in Siberia.

For Sergei and his father,

a new fishing season on Lake Baikal was getting under way.

It's gorgeous here at the moment, but it gets pretty cold here

in winter, doesn't it?

"It only gets to minus 30."

We know that Russians, you're pretty tough

but are people from Siberia even tougher?

HE INTERRUPTS

Sergei and his father come from a long line of tough Russians

who struck out into the country's wild and often frozen east

to seek their fortunes.

Near the shores of Lake Baikal,

hardy Siberian pioneers founded the city of Irkutsk.

I'd arrived on one of the biggest days of the year.

Bloody hell.

This is the World War II Victory Day.

Victory over the Germans in the Second World War

was a heroic struggle, one of the few events

in their turbulent history all Russians agree on.

It's become a unifying idea for the entire nation.

Oh, my God, look at this.

This is the march of what's known as the Immortal Regiment,

with grandchildren, great-grandchildren,

relatives, remembering.

Why have you come today?

Around 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians

died during World War II.

For every American GI killed fighting Germany,

it's thought 80 Soviet soldiers died doing the same.

I think it's only when you see this sea of faces coming at you

that you start to really understand...

..the scale of the suffering here.

In the West, I think there's a feeling that we won the war

but it was on the Russian front

where the most horrific battles were.

It was the Soviet Union that really fought the Nazi war machine

into the ground.

Look, the line goes all the way down there.

This is not the centre of Moscow.

Look, if you turn around this way, look.

Look, that's the beginning of it, look.

The Immortal Regiment began a few years ago

as a small grassroots movement.

It's become a phenomenon.

This year, there were 40,000 people in this march alone.

In Moscow, President Putin led roughly 800,000 on a similar parade

commemorating the victory but also reminding Russians, many think,

of the importance and value of military sacrifice.

Time to go to Krasnoyarsk.

Oh, it's up. Platform four.

This is the best way to see the world's largest country.

Oh, the ground rumbles!

I love a good train journey.

And this...

..has got to be the best.

All right, where are we going?

I'm on.

Off on the Trans-Siberian.

The Trans-Siberian Railway stretches 6,000 miles across Russia and covers

an incredible seven time zones.

I was hopping aboard for just a short stretch,

18 hours and 700 miles west.

Just looking at the photos from the parade.

There was a lot of pride and patriotism on display there.

President Putin has been...

..very adept at nurturing and encouraging and exploiting

patriotism in Russia as well.

He's made Russians feel good about being Russian.

I'd arrived in Krasnoyarsk.

It's a gritty, industrial Siberian city which grew dramatically after

the Russian Revolution of 1917.

These days, it's the kind of working-class city where

President Putin enjoys huge popularity.

And one local restaurant here is riding the wave.

So this is the President's Cafe.

You wipe your feet on the American flag.

So there's a very clear theme to this restaurant.

So what is the idea, what's the idea behind this place?

You're clearly a massive fan of the president,

but do you have a favourite photo?

Sofia, when you stand there and you look at him,

I think you get a little bit flustered, don't you?

What would you be like if he actually came here?

I think we should probably warn President Putin's bodyguards about

you cos I think you might... It's possible you might jump him.

Western leaders would kill for Putin's poll ratings of up to 80%.

He's even more popular among young Russians.

RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS

Apparently they do this every day.

Why do so many Russians, young and old, love Putin?

One reason is the traumatic events that followed the collapse

of the Soviet Union.

Russia's rich in oil, gas, minerals and metals

and under communism almost everything

was controlled by the state,

but after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991,

these valuable state assets were privatised and flogged off,

often with the help of Western banks and bankers.

For the well-connected and the well-armed,

there were fortunes to be made.

The Russian mafia realised that rather than piddling about with

drugs and crime, the really big money was to be made by controlling

and running factories and businesses.

So they literally fought for control.

Krasnoyarsk was a major target.

It's an industrial city,

it has a huge aluminium smelter and that was the scene

of the so-called aluminium war.

Gangs controlled by politicians and oligarchs fought gun battles

over the aluminium smelter in Krasnoyarsk.

As violence raged across Siberia,

scores of people connected to the aluminium industry were murdered.

I met up with Vladimir Vladimirov, a local businessman who lived

through that time.

It sounds like it was a violent time, were people...?

By the mid-1990s, there were thought to be more than 5,000

Russian mafia gangs with more than 100,000 members.

But after Putin became president in 1999, he cracked down.

Order was restored.

Entrepreneurs like Vladimir were able to open and build businesses

for the first time.

Oh, wow!

Flippin' heck!

Putin stopped the mafia wars on the streets.

He was a popular leader, he could've transformed the country.

Instead, his new Russia is still a frightening

and brutally corrupt place, and anyone who questions

the high-level corruption here faces intimidation or worse.

It sounds as though what you're saying is President Putin is a long

way away but if he knew what was going on he would do something.

When both the Soviet Union and communism collapsed, many Russians

were left without purpose and meaning.

Millions embraced a Russian version of capitalism and consumerism,

but that wasn't the answer for everyone.

In remote wilderness eight hours' drive south of Krasnoyarsk,

the mountains and forests have become a promised land

for thousands of Russians from across the country.

So I think we are stopping here.

Very nice to meet you.

Vadim Redkin used to be the vocalist in a successful Moscow rock band.

So Vadim has hopped into this car ahead...

..and he's leading us up into the mountains.

This looks like some sort of checkpoint for the community here.

What is not allowed here?

Is this your church?

OK. And is this Vissarion over there?

Can we have a look?

You believe he is the reincarnation of Jesus, is that right?

There are hundreds of cults, sects,

gurus and mystics scattered across remote bits of Siberia.

So does he live up on the...?

Does Vissarion live up on the hill there?

BELL CHIMES

Oh, my!

Twice a week, Vissarion's followers gather to sing hymns

to their divine leader.

Vissarion is a mysterious figure, even among his own followers.

As night fell, he still hadn't materialised.

Vissarion has managed to attract some 5,000 followers to the network

of villages that make up his Siberian utopia.

Many abandon successful careers

to follow the man they call The Teacher,

and village schools are raising a new generation of Vissarionites.

Scary stuff.

I genuinely felt like I should be calling social services.

They are teaching Vissarion's ten-volume sequel to the Bible.

Finally we heard Vissarion was granting us a rare audience

at Vadim's house.

Is that OK? All right.

CHORAL MUSIC PLAYS

Simon.