Orlando Figes

Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

Documentary series with each episode focusing on a solitary historical figure who, for various reasons, including despotism, canibalism, genocide, and too many atrocities to imagine, are considered some of histories most vile and appalling figures.

2017 marks the centenary of one of the most significant events of the 20th century - the Russian Revolution. Using the private journals of Pierre Gilliard, tutor to the Romanov children, this film is an intimate and eye-opening account of the Russian Imperial family in those days of turmoil. How did they get through their days? How did they perceive their lives as their world crumbled around them?

To create the utopian world he envisioned, Lenin did what he thought he had to. His violent seizure of power -- and the harsh measures he took to hold onto it -- inspired generations of revolutionaries, and dictators. Brilliant and driven, Lenin wanted to change history. He did, but not in the way he expected. Made by JAK Documentary for The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones on DVD, 2007.