The BBC World Service airs RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND THE WORLD Saturday, March 8 at 1706 ET and repeated Sunday, March 9 at 0606 ET. This program will observe the usual BBC program clock and is available to air within 24 hours of its first transmission. It can be recorded directly from the stream or downloaded from Content Depot. In Content Depot, you’ll find it by going to American Public Media Exchange under BBC Documentaries and Specials. Stations will be alerted via email once the program is loaded.

Description: Bridget Kendall asks what the Ukrainian revolutions mean for Russia and the world.

It was meant to be a moment of glory for Vladimir Putin, basking in the glow from a successful winter Olympics. Instead the world’s attention has been drawn away from the ski slopes of Sochi and towards the barricades of central Kyiv, with the violence on the streets the latest chapter in the long and unpredictable aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

For the Kremlin, the Ukrainian revolution was a takeover by fascist elements of a nation which lies at the core of Russian history, with Kyiv the birthplace of the Russian Orthodox Church. President Putin has responded with a show of military force. For his critics, his reaction exposes his extreme view of Russian nationalism and his lack of regard for international norms. Meanwhile a nervous world watches and waits to see whether the angry words and tensions on the ground explode into open conflict.

The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, draws on her deep knowledge of the former USSR to discuss these events with a distinguished panel. In front of an audience at the London School of Economics and Political Science, she tries to put the dramatic events of recent days into the longer historical context and ask what they mean for Ukraine, Russia and the world.

Program Duration: 49 minutes 30 seconds (23 minutes & 26 minutes 30 seconds) or 59 minutes including news bulletins, billboards & promos

First transmission: Saturday, March 8 at 1706 ET and repeated Sunday, March 9 at 0606 ET

Available to broadcast: 24 hours from first transmission

Download: This program is available to download from the American Public Media Exchange in Content Depot under BBC Documentaries and Specials.

Clock: This program follows the usual BBC World Service Clock.

Please note: For the Saturday broadcast, the Forum and Sporting Witness will be dropped to accommodate this program. For the Sunday broadcast, The Forum and Witness will be dropped to accommodate.