For eighty years, Western audiences were fed cookie-cutter images and disinformation on Russia, via the all-controlling KGB and the Communist Party. Now, as we approach the millennium, viewers can finally experience the truth about Russia’s last century with: SECRETS FROM THE RUSSIAN ARCHIVES. This unique four-part series is produced by Abamedia and award-winning filmmaker William Cran (The Prize, The Secret File on J. Edgar Hoover), and funded by PBS and Devillier Donegan Enterprises. Abamedia’s unprecedented access to the Russian State Film and Photo Archive, among other institutions, provides each of the one-hour programs with extraordinary revelations and never-before-seen footage, from deep within Russia’s image and document vaults — uncovering a treasure-trove of provocative and richly untold Soviet history.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN

ATOMIC ESPIONAGE: This episode reveals the inner workings of the former Soviet Union’s vast espionage network and, in particular, focuses on the actual spies who stole "the bomb" from the U.S.

SPORTS DIPLOMACY: One of the tragic legacies of Stalin, this hour features individual athletes who were subject to the extreme methodologies that the Soviets enforced to win international athletic events for political gain — at any cost.

PROPAGANDA: Exploring the formidable Soviet propaganda machine is the subject of this episode, as well as weighing its impact on headline events, world politics, and the daily lives of both Russian and Western citizens.

THE SPACE RACE: This program presents the Soviet’s astonishing quest to be first in space and to the moon, in the century’s most dramatic duel with their arch rival: the Americans.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Project: SECRETS FROM THE RUSSIAN ARCHIVES

Network: Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Premier: Fall, 1999

Production Commencement: April, 1998

Origination: Russia, Great Britain, United States

Series Producers: William Cran
                          Mitchell Johnson
                          Kate Leonard Morgan

Espionage Consultant: Phillip Knightley

Online: http://www.abamedia.com/

Production Company: Abamedia
                                          InVision Productions

Distributor: Devillier Donegan Enterprises

SECRETS FROM THE RUSSIAN ARCHIVES is produced by Invision Productions with Abamedia and distributed by Devillier Donegan Enterprises for PBS.